Langford is a small city on Vancouver Island whose city council is very opposed to all forms of cannabis. On June 17, in an effort to stop a hemp store from opening in their city, the Langford City Council passed a by-law which prohibited any hemp store within their city.
A delegation of hemp store owners, hemp product manufacturers and hemp activists attended the City Council meeting, but the council refused to hear them speak.
After the meeting, delegation members Ian Hunter (of Sacred Herb and the Mission of Ecstasy) Kevin Millership (Medical Marijuana recipient) were on the outside steps of City Hall, along with Eleanor Randle of the BC Anti Prohibition League, who was discussing hemp with an anti-hemp developer.
An RCMP car with two officers pulled up, and the officers started searching Millership. When Ian Hunter confronted the officers he was also searched, and found to be in possession of about one gram of marijuana. Hunter and Millership were arrested, handcuffed, and taken for fingerprinting at the police station.
Hunter intends to plead not guilty, and use a religious defence. Millership intends to plead not guilty, and use a medical defence.
The next court date for both Hunter and Millership is 9am on July 30, at the Colwood Courthouse.
For more information, please contact Ian Hunter of the Sacred Herb in Victoria at 604-384-0659, or Chris Chodat of the Hemp Connection in Sooke at 604-642-2388.