[11
OCT 00] SPA CENTRE REVIEW - HOWARD MARKS
Mr Nice Gets The Joint Giggling
BY
ANTONY HOPKER
International
drug dealer Howard Marks rolled up in Leamington last night, and
there wasn’t a Tory shadow cabinet minister in sight.
 The
one-time mastermind of a cannabis smuggling network has taken
his life story to the stage, and entertained all with tales of
his exploits.
This
includes pretending to be a member of the Mexican Secret Service
to explain away being caught with tonnes of hashish.
His
smuggling career, which spanned decades, seems to have ended
when he got busted in America, and was in prison for several
years.
Now
in his mid-50s, Marks has spent his freedom smoking cannabis and
trying to find ways to get the drugs legalised.
It’s
quite a funny tale, including his account of his application to
be appointed Tony Blair’s Drugs Czar, and a hilarious stint
with a fez on his head as he explains why cannabis came to be
illegal in the first place.
His
delivery is droll. He stands for the most part and drawls into
the microphone in a deep Welsh accent, no doubt enriched by
years of herbal infusion in his throat. Shut your eyes and it
sounds a bit like Ivor the Engine, but more scary.
Egged
on by an adoring crowd, most of whom were too young to remember
his Old Bailey trials, he demonstrated his belief in cannabis by
lighting a joint on stage, and he starts giggling.
The
problem is, as he explains, is that the police won’t arrest
him. There’s no reason to prosecute him – he stands to lose
nothing except his freedom and even that doesn’t bother him.
He’s
tried to get arrested by walking into police stations and
lighting up. They leave him alone because they know who he is.
It isn’t known if he tried this in Leamington police station
100 yards away last night.
As
a result of all this, he has become something of a god for the
cannabis-smoking population. It’s a bit surreal to see them in
the Royal Spa Centre, plaques proclaiming civic splendour all
around it.
With
the main bar outside the auditorium shut, and the crowd queuing
patiently for cups of tea before going back in for the second
half, it felt more like a setting for a political meeting was
happening.
But
there were many more people there, and they were young. Ann
Widdecombe take note.
Actually
Marks isn’t against her stance. He agrees that if there is a
law, it should be enforced. It just so happens that he believes
shouldn’t be a law in this case.
Let’s
hope the whiff clears before Dickie Bird rolls his very
different juggernaut into town on Saturday.
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