Pot activist Dana Larsen vows to give away 1M cannabis seeds to Canadians

If ever there was anyone who has earned the title Johnny Cannabis-seed — it's Dana Larsen.

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As part of his OverGrow Canada tour, the marijuana legalization advocate will be doling out handfuls of cannabis seeds as a form of "civil disobedience to make cannabis growing normal."

"I want to see cannabis growing openly from coast to coast," Larsen said in a statement.

"In front yards and balconies, windowsills and gardens. I also want to see cannabis growing in parks and trails, in traffic circles and public planters."

The author of the parodies Hairy Pothead and the Marijuana Stone and Green Buds and Hash plans to give away a million weed seeds in person or by mail order. 

Cannabis seeds illegal

What Larsen is doing is not legal — and he knows it.

"There are a lot of things about cannabis that are illegal in Canada that the police ignore because the penalties are very minor and the effort to arrest you would be very significant," he said.

A spokesperson for the Alberta RCMP tells CBC News cannabis seeds are illegal because they are the "genesis of the actual drug" and have the ability to grow into marijuana.

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The province's Green Team considers the seeds drug paraphernalia and will seize them as evidence if found during a drug bust.

But it's clear that getting arrested isn't a big concern for Larsen.

In January, he mailed bags of pot to every Liberal member of Parliament as a reminder of their election promises.

He said his goal was to "refamiliarize themselves with the pleasant effects" of the substance.

Venues get 'cold feet'  

Larsen claims the Calgary event was originally set to happen at Festival Hall, but the venue "got cold feet and backed out."

"The exact same thing happened in Kelowna and Edmonton, but we were able to secure new locations."

Festival Hall said it was open to hosting Larsen's event on the condition they could make local authorities aware in advance.

"Just so that we're not liable if anything happens," said Liam Prost, the rentals manager at Festival Hall.

After that conversation, he says Larsen's people made the decision themselves to change the location.

The event was rebooked at the Days Inn on Macleod Trail South.