[420 Girl]

The Valley Way Motel in Niagara Falls is back to flying only one flag on its front lawn - the Canadian flag.

For now, the second flag that was just below it, which was also red and white and looked similar to the Canadian flag - except that it had a marijuana leaf instead of the traditional maple leaf - has been taken down.

I noticed the marijuana flag some time ago and so did some of our readers, who asked that we look into the problem. They thought it was an insult to have the marijuana flag flying below our national flag.

The motel is at the corner of Valley Way and Stanley Avenue. That's not very far from Valley Way Public School, Ontario's Tourism Welcome Centre, the Ontario Provincial Police detachment and the Royal Canadian Legion branch 51.

Stanley Avenue is well used, not only by local residents but also tourists who come into our city from Highway 420.

No laws are being broken and there's nothing illegal about any of this. But what kind of an impression does this leave with our children and visitors who come here?

I'm a newspaper reporter - no one needs to remind me that freedom of speech and expression are paramount and we should do everything we can to protect those basic rights.

And this is not a debate about the medical benefits of using marijuana.

If that marijuana flag was in someone's window at home, most of us would probably not give it a second thought. But to have it in front of a local business is questionable. To have it flying under our Canadian flag is not only in poor taste, it's disrespectful.

There are those who disagree, including Doug Hammond, who rents a room at the motel and looks after the office.

"A young kid had it, he asked me if I could put it up and that's what I did."

If there are people upset by it, no one has stopped by the motel to complain. He said a few people have said they like it and some have stopped to take a photo.

"I didn't think it was a big deal. It's just a hemp flag, and you can buy them anywhere. I don't see what's the problem," said Hammond.

He thinks some people "should get a life" and there are more important issues to complain about.

It was not flown to insult anyone. If anyone from the Legion had complained, he would have taken it down. Both his grandfathers were in the army, he said, and he would not want to offend anyone in the military.

"It's not hurting nobody. It's just a flag, and I didn't think it would have this kind of an impact on anybody," said Hammond.

The motel is owned by someone in Toronto. Attempts to contact that individual were unsuccessful. There is no manager on site, and Hammond opens up the office if any of the tenants need to use the telephone.

The day after The Review visited, the marijuana flag was taken down.

Contacted about his decision, Hammond said it will stay down for now. He's undecided if it will go up again in the new year.

We let him know that if people call us again to complain, we will revisit this issue.

http://www.420magazine.com/forums/in...-had-mind.html