This guy is a good friend of mine.
Flower power
In the summer of 1998, Rob hatched another plot against prohibition. He planted a huge garden in front of his High Street hemp shop. Inside of his store were beautiful crystals, hemp clothing, pipes, pot seeds, hemp candy, incense, books and music. Outside were daisies, mums, and 13 cannabis plants.
Village employees unknowingly watered pot plants while the town's civic leaders scrutinized High Street shops eligible to win the coveted "Glastonbury In Bloom" floral display competition. Impressed by Rob's storefront, they awarded him a major prize. After the awards ceremony, he told stunned officials that they had awarded Cannabis for cannabis.
"When he first told us, my initial thought was 'Oh shit!'" said Deputy Mayor Allan Gloak. "Rob's display was excellent, a real splash of color. He had hanging baskets, tubs and pots ? a great variety of plants. Unfortunately, we didn't spot just how many varieties. We don't condone cannabis, but Glastonbury is a bit of a hippie paradise and is well known for its free spirit. Cannabis plants even appear around the church and we often have to remove them from public displays. We can't remove them on private property."
Cannabis' cannabis plants had already attracted the attention of local constable Rob Davis, who arrested Cannabis for cannabis.
"It was quite amusing, actually," Rob remembers. "You have to understand that pot plants grow all over Glastonbury. There's even one growing right now next to the post office doorway on High Street."
We strolled in the cold rain down Glastonbury's quaint main street, past shops selling the region's magic and myth. It was a typically dreary December day. Rob pointed towards the cement. There, growing out of a crack in the sidewalk, was a tiny cannabis plant.
In June 1999, Cannabis went on trial for his prized cannabis display. As usual, he defended himself without assistance from an attorney. He read a 25 minute speech, explaining cannabis history, jury nullification, the spirituality of altered consciousness.
"How can it be a crime to water a prize-winning floral display?" Rob asked the court.
The judge, although not as hostile as the Straw Plant judge, told the jury it had to "uphold the law." Rob was found guilty. The prosecution wanted ?1300 in fines and costs.
"The judge refused to hear of it," Rob said. "He said: 'Mr Cannabis is going to refuse to pay and then we will have to send him to prison, which will cost the taxpayers even more money.' So they sent me to a local jail cell for six hours. That's all."
A month later, Cannabis was again arrested, this time for growing eight pot plants in front of his shop. While he was in jail, police searched his home. They found marijuana, DMT, mushrooms, and LSD.
Some people expected Cannabis to apologize for having drugs other than cannabis.
"I told police I had been giving away a variety of entheogens. I have nothing to hide. DMT and LSD were the liberators that helped me get in touch with spirit. I enjoy cannabis a lot, but these other entheogens were what really provided me with enlightenment. So I have no fear of admitting that I use them, and that I provide them to people. I give out LSD at parties," Rob told me. "I will probably be put on trial next summer. It will give me a chance in open court to educate the judges, juries, media and public about how the drug war violates international law and human rights."
His full name, as changed by deed poll, is ''Free Rob cannabis'', with apostrophies and all. He has only eaten (drunk) raw juices for almost 10 years now and advocates the medicinal properties of marijuana at every given chance. If ever you are in Glastonbury check out his shop, its next to Backpackers on the highstreet.
