However, I decided to proceed, because it literally seems "harmless," and I had an idea that has been germinating for some time. I am now convinced that it is worthy of action.

One of the most offensive lies that is forced on the cannabis community is visible in "headshops" that have to pretend that their products are sold –not for marijuana –but rather for tobacco, a highly addictive drug that kills millions of people around the world. That is truly bizarre, and still it often doesn’t work. On a fairly regular basis, I see stories about shops being shut down and their inventories seized.

Shift the scene now to a park, or beach or concert. Police, who have much better things to do, go around looking for handrolled cigarettes, or sniffing for something that doesn’t smell like tobacco. Cars have been seized because the police have seen the remnants of handrolled cigarettes in the ashtray. People have been jailed because the police claim they can smell marijuana.
See
Marijuana Prohibition In Canada May Have Just Lost By A Nose;
Ontario Appeals Court Rules Police Claims Of Smelling Marijuana Not Sufficient For Arrest.
– Major Development!

Herbal smokes provide a way to solve these problems on an individual level, and to thoroughly gum up the system at the political and juridical level.

Headshops should carry an assortment of herbs, which should be promoted at "point of sale" with little placards, and displayed throughout the store side-by-side with the bongs and pipes and papers. People should be explicitly encouraged to buy the herbs to be used in such a way as to undermine the enforcement of the marijuana laws.

No subterfuge, no pretense.

This is an explicitly political action. Indeed, smoking the herbs should be a form of political protest. Thus an herbal "smoke-in" could be a perfectly legal way to protest absurdity of marijuana prohibition.

The police want to shut down headshops – not because they give a damn about the health of their customers – but rather because they recognize that these places are a visible manifestation of defiance. They are also where magazines about marijuana are sold, and where marijuana users can be reassured that they are not alone.

So people who sell things related to marijuana, things that could be used to smoke marijuana, should also sell other herbs that can be used in the pipes and bongs. People who use marijuana – and people who don’t use marijuana, but who oppose marijuana prohibition – should buy these herbs and smoke/burn them and/or display them.

And if you want to have some real fun, and possibly make some real money, talk to a lawyer and see if you can get yourself arrested for having marijuana – when you don’t. But – I repeat -- talk to a lawyer first and have him or her ready and willing to step in and then sue the police for false arrest. Not everyone can or should try this, but it could seriously inhibit the police in their search for excuses to arrest marijuana users, especially in large venues and demonstrations.

I want to repeat again that this should be an explicitly open political action and statement. This is not a subterfuge, unlike the signs that claim that bongs are for use with tobacco. The point is to create facts on the ground that prove that the sight of a handrolled cigarette or the smell of smoke that isn’t tobacco cannot be the basis of an arrest. Yes, it can also be used on the individual basis to hide the smell of marijuana. "Look officer, here is the pack of legal herbs." That could be a lifesaver, but that is another subject. It is best to be careful and not to get stopped in the first place.