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Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
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'Church of the Universe; founder Walter Tucker dies at 79
The Record Saturday 28 Apr 2012 He was 79. He died of heart failure Thursday at Hamilton General Hospital. The bearded pot promoter made headlines as he defended himself and other members of his Church of the Universe over drug charges. Tucker called himself a reverend of the church and the church's co-founder, Michael Baldasaro, was known as a brother. The pair was also known for their squabbles with municipalities where they had set up camp. After being evicted from the IMICO foundry in Guelph in 1998, the pair came to Cambridge where they moved into the derelict Kanmet foundry on Margaret Avenue in the Preston area of Cambridge. The bearded maestros of pot sparked concern among politicians and some neighbours, who followed Guelph's lead and explored ways to run the pair out of town. They refused to budge. Nine months later the dispute was resolved when a mysterious fire gutted the building and Tucker moved to Hamilton. Tucker also made headlines in 1999 at the second annual Cannabis Carnival in Kitchener's Victoria Park. He openly lit what looked and smelled like a marijuana cigarette and invited the crowd to join him. About 25 people took him up on the offer. While Waterloo Regional Police were visible throughout the event, they weren’t around when Tucker smoked the illegal weed, and he wasn’t charged. Born in the Mennonite farming town of Rosthern, Sask., Tucker was one of nine children. His father, Walter Adam Tucker, was a lawyer and judge, but is probably best known for serving as MP for Rosthern for 11 years, starting in the 1930s. Later, he led the Saskatchewan Liberal Party, serving as opposition leader. Tucker tried to follow his father’s footsteps. He ran as an independent in Hamilton West in the 1988 federal election and as a Libertarian in Wellington County. Tucker probably learned the law from his father. His abilities as a self-taught lawyer were known in the courts as he won some cases, and lost others. In 2010, Tucker and Baldasaro lost their attempt to have their marijuana trafficking convictions heard by the Supreme Court of Canada. The court dismissed an application for leave to appeal convictions from 2007 in Hamilton. In 2007, the pair was convicted after selling small quantities of pot to an undercover police officer posing as a new church member. Baldasaro was sentenced to two years in prison and Tucker was sentenced to 12 months. With files from News Services http://www.therecord.com/news/local/article/713946--church-of-the-universe-founder-walter-tucker-dies-at-79
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