Cafe ’openly Flouting’ Drug Laws Raided B

[Alfa]

POT CAFE'S LICENCE COULD BE REVOKED

The owner of a Vancouver cafe that sells pot over the counter will
appear at a hearing where her city-issued business licence might be
revoked.

Barb Windsor, Vancouver's deputy chief licensing inspector, said
yesterday a panel of three city councillors will hear evidence Sept.
15 relating to the operation of the Da Kine Smoke & Beverage Shop
before making a recommendation to city council.

Owned by Carol Gwilt, the Da Kine cafe is permitted to sell
pre-packaged food - no food preparation is allowed on-site- along with
publications, gifts and clothing.

Vancouver police spokesperson Sarah Bloor said earlier the police
force "had concerns" when the cafe first applied for licensing in
January. But despite those unspecified concerns, which police raised
with city staff, a business licence was issued May 4.

On Wednesday, Gwilt admitted to the media her shop has been selling
marijuana over the counter since opening four months ago, although no
drugs are displayed.

[Alfa]

POT CAFE ENJOYS BRISK BUSINESS, LOYAL CUSTOMERS

Buyers Feel Safer Purchasing Over The Counter Than On The
Street

VANCOUVER - At 5 p.m. on a Friday, Da Kine cafe is one of the busiest
shops in the city.

About 30 buyers line up to spend $30 on an eighth of an ounce of
marijuana in little plastic bags stashed under the counter.

Over the course of an hour, staff serve about 100 customers, mostly
young, white, working-class males, who a decade ago would have crammed
a bar on a Friday night for an after-work beer.

Owner Carol Gwilt, whose business could face closure after a city
council hearing Sept. 15, says recent media attention is helping to
draw customers. "It's been good today. And it was really busy, too,
before the media attention."

Justin Cholewa says he recently moved here from Chicago because of
shops like this around Commercial Drive. "I've never seen anything
like it. It actually attracted me to come up here to study. Compared
to America, [which is] almost in a fascist governing time, it reflects
on the whole city because nobody has to be scared of what they're
doing. Nobody has to hide."

Except journalists, that is. Staff asked a Vancouver Sun photographer
to respect customers' privacy and stay outside. Gwilt allowed a writer
inside, but said she was too busy to talk to media.

Inside, potential customers find Egyptian decor and an array of
pro-pot propaganda.

A poster of Allen Ginsburg says "Pot is a reality kick."

Another notes that Mark Twain, Van Gogh and Rembrandt all worked with
hemp paper.

A chalkboard quotes Jim Morrison as saying, "No eternal reward will
forgive us now for wasting the dawn."

A clerk wears a T-shirt (selling for $30) with a mock Vancouver
Canucks logo in which a spliff replaces the hockey stick.

Shelves are stocked with growing paraphernalia, rolling papers,
lighters and glass pipes -- including a monstrous saxophone-sized bong.

"You can't get any marijuana until you register," calls out a clerk.

Buyers must fill out an "application for registration," with a sworn
declaration that "ingesting cannabis has therapeutic benefits to my
medical condition and my general state of well-being that outweigh any
health risks
associated with it."

(Possession of a one-month supply of medicinal marijuana is legal in
Canada for people who are terminally or chronically ill and who apply
to Health Canada for approval.)

After that, a sign at the counter warns customers must be 19 or older.
"If you cannot produce ID when requested to do so, you will be ejected
onto the street."

"The Menu," displayed on the counter, is on plain white paper with
handwritten items including "Chuckleberry," "Grand Jam" and "Citrus
Indica," different types of pot priced at $10 a gram or $30 for an
eighth of an ounce.

Staff dispense "the herb" as fast as the shop next door dispenses
pizza slices -- and it clearly does a roaring trade of customers with
the munchies.

Some buyers immediately roll joints at the few tables inside the cafe,
or buy pop from a fridge, while most prefer the take-out option. No
food appears to be sold on the premises. No one was smoking inside
during The Sun's brief visit.

Outside, a man passes out pamphlets for a "Drug War History Tour" set
for Wednesday afternoon at the Vancouver public library. Convinced
U.S. drug enforcement agents are monitoring the area, he says Da Kine
isn't the only business on the block selling pot -- it's just the most open.

Some buyers maintain that marijuana is safer than alcohol, despite
reports linking it to paranoia, memory loss, disjointed speech,
impaired driving and anxiety disorders.

Many say they believe it's safer to buy it in a cafe instead of from
dealers who hang around after Da Kine closes at 10 p.m.

"The fact you don't have to get it off the streets makes it safer,"
says Cholewa. "There's nothing else mixed in ... you never know."

The city's legal department is scheduled to present a report on the
licensing of Da Kine on Sept. 15.

[Alfa]

CITY CONSIDERS OPTIONS AS STORE SELLS POT AGAIN

The future of Vancouver's newest pot store will likely be determined at a
city licensing hearing on Sept. 15.

Barb Windsor, the city's deputy chief licensing inspector, yesterday
confirmed the hearing date, adding a recommendation can be made to council
to suspend or revoke the licence of the Da Kine Smoke and Beverage Shops
Inc., which has been selling marijuana and hashish for the past four months.

"They have a business licence to operate as a limited-service food
[vendor], sell packaged food, sell smoking paraphernalia and other goods,"
Windsor said, adding the shop is allegedly violating its licence by selling
marijuana and violating a health-department bylaw by allowing dope smoking.

Vancouver police spokeswoman Const. Sarah Bloor said although the shop in
1000-block Commercial Drive is on police "radar," they'd prefer to see it
dealt with as a licensing issue rather than a criminal one.

"We are working with the city and we are going to be looking at the
licence," Bloor said. "We'll take our approach from dealing with the city
and determine what our next course of action will be."

Da Kine owner Carol Gwilt spent yesterday monitoring police officers
patrolling near her store as she returned to selling marijuana after
shutting down the Canadian Sanctuary Society, which sells the pot, on
Wednesday.

"It been quiet [police-wise] all day, and we are open for business and it's
busy with people," Gwilt said, adding only registered society members were
sold cannabis. "Other than that, we don't have marijuana [for the general
public], but we are getting a lot of support."

Gwilt has begun compiling names for a petition to take to city hall showing
residents want a place where they can buy marijuana and hash safely.

"I got hundreds today," Gwilt said. "People just want to be counted."

She contended the store is not violating its licence because Da Kine
donates space to the non-profit society that sells the pot and the smoking
room has recently installed a commercial-grade ventilation system.

The Commercial Drive Business Improvement Association has complained about
Da Kine, arguing it is just a block away from secondary and elementary
schools and a community cen
tre.

But Gwilt argued crime has gone down in that block of Commercial Drive
since her store arrived. She added pot smokers aren't as big a problem as
the crack addicts and heroin users who frequent the area.

Gwilt said Vancouver's "biggest pot rally ever" -- the Drug War History
Tour organized by pot activist David Malmo-Levine -- has been scheduled for
Wednesday.

[Alfa]

POLICE, CITY IGNORED STORE SELLING POT

Vancouver police and city officials knew that a Commercial Drive cafe had
been openly selling marijuana for months before closing Wednesday, but
didn't act because of a lack of resources.

"We were aware of what the situation was, but we have to prioritize our
responsibilities and the way our resources are deployed," police
spokeswoman Const. Sarah Bloor said.

"When you don't have enough resources, it's hard to take action. We hadn't
received any complaints."

Da Kine Smoke and Beverage Shop at 1018 Commercial Drive, which has sold
marijuana over the counter since opening four months ago, stopped the
practice Wednesday, spooked by the sudden media attention.

Owner Carol Gwilt told reporters she hopes the city and police will allow
her to stay in business and resume selling the drug.

City Councillor Tim Stevenson said late Wednesday the city's legal
department is preparing a report that city council may discuss next week.

He said he knew about the cafe earlier, but it will be up to council to
deal with the matter after seeing the legal department's report.

He said he favours decriminalizing marijuana, but "unfortunately the
federal government has chosen not to act on this. You can't just have
places breaking the law wherever they choose to."

As to whether it's safer that pot be sold in a shop instead of a back
alley, he said: "There's a lot to be said for this, but that's not the law
of the land."

Earlier in the day, explaining her decision to post signs advising
customers that marijuana sales would not be available Wednesday, Gwilt said:

"I'm just being pre-emptive. I'm protecting my assets. I'm closed for my
own protection. There's nothing to bust people for today."

Asked what goods or services her business licence permits her to provide,
Gwilt refused to comment.

However, Pia Tofini Johnson, of the 225-member Commercial Drive Business
Improvement Association, said she is "absolutely livid" that neither police
nor the city have done anything so far to curtail the Da Kine operation.

Johnson said minutes from a July 8 business improvement association meeting
show that two
police constables were in attendance when Da Kine's
marijuana-selling activities were discussed.

"Whether they told anybody, who knows," Johnson said.

"The BIA is totally against that place," said Johnson, long-time owner of
Turistano International Travel. "They should never have been allowed to
open in the first place. What they're doing is against the law and it
should be stopped. You can't have selective enforcement of the law."

BIA president Carmen D'Onofrio Jr., an area wine merchant and shoe store
operator, said he remains baffled that Da Kine managed to get its licence
approved, especially since the cafe is located a block away from an
elementary school, a high school and a community centre.

"We're not trying to be exclusive," D'Onofrio said. "All we're asking is
for businesses to be responsible and viable members of the community. This
is a family-oriented neighbourhood."

Bloor said the police force "had concerns" when the cafe first applied to
the city for a business licence in January.

She declined to say what those concerns were, but said they were raised
with city staff, who approved the licence in May.

Now that Gwilt has acknowledged selling marijuana over the counter, Bloor
said police will decide with city officials on a course of action.

"The Vancouver police department is working with city licensing to find a
solution to this," Bloor said in an interview. "Hopefully, the business
licence will be lifted."

Da Kine was also discussed at another business improvement association
meeting on July 15 that was attended by Stevenson, along with staff members
from the city's licensing, engineering, sanitation and parking departments,
Johnson said.

"We brought [Da Kine's activities] to their attention, that people were
selling and smoking on the premises."

Johnson said the merchants were told by a licensing inspector -- whom she
did not identify -- that the licensing department was short-staffed in the
summer, but the matter would be investigated in September.

Barb Windsor, the city's deputy chief licensing inspector, was not
available for comment Wednesday.

Gwilt told reporters she considers her cafe to be a vital part of
Vancouver's overall harm reduction plan when it comes to dealing with drug use.

The marijuana is not on display inside her premises, but is brought out
from a back room -- much as it is in the cannabis cafes in Amsterdam -- and
sales are limited to one ounce a customer. Customers must be at least 19
years old.

While the pot is hidden, a large well-lit showcase containing hashish pipes
and other drug paraphernalia is prominently visible.

On the building's exterior are signs saying tobacco smoking and alcohol
consumption are prohibited inside, while loitering, drug dealing and
"toking" are not allowed out on the street.

"I don't consider what I'm doing to be illegal," Gwilt said. "Cannabis
needs to be removed from the Criminal Code. I'm willing to work with the
police to figure this out."

[Alfa]

COLEMAN SLAMS OPEN POT SALES

Solicitor-General Condemns City Politicians for Not Taking Marijuana
Shops Seriously Enough

VICTORIA -- Solicitor-General Rich Coleman says it is unacceptable for
marijuana to be openly sold in Vancouver stores while city politicians
take a "ho-hum attitude" to the illegal activity.

"You can't take a soft attitude towards the fact that somebody wants
to sell an illegal drug in a store under a business licence in that
city," Coleman said Wednesday, denouncing the city's weak response to
the illegal activity.

Coleman does not direct police operations or investigations, but said
he is confident the law will be enforced.

However, Vancouver police media liaison officer Const. Sarah Bloor
simply repeated the position the department has taken since the issue
exploded last week, after the proprietor of Da Kine Smoke & Beverage
Shop on Commercial Drive admitted marijuana was being sold on the premises:

"We're aware of Rich Coleman's comments and the chief has already
indicated he does not support criminal behaviour from business," Bloor
said Wednesday. "There will be an investigation, and we are in the
process of investigating those businesses that conduct themselves in
an illegal manner."

Bloor would not say whether any other businesses are under
investigation for selling marijuana.

"We're aware of them, and we prioritize them as to how we can get to
them in relation to other investigations that we have ongoing," she
said.

"We're aware of public concerns and we're addressing
those."

Several city councillors appeared unconcerned that stores on
Commercial Drive have been selling marijuana over the counter,
including Da Kine and The Spirit Within.

"I don't think we need a ho-hum attitude to anything [dealing] with
drugs," Coleman said. "You've got people driving into a neighbourhood,
buying marijuana, smoking it and driving away in their cars. . .That,
to me, is unacceptable.

"It is still against the law in this country [for marijuana] to be
sold and we have to deal with it. It's not something we want popping
up on every corner because somebody thinks they can break the law."

Three members of city council will conduct a hearing Sept. 15 to
determine wheth
er the shop's business licence will be revoked. The
hearing will be chaired by Coun. Anne Roberts, assisted by councillors
Fred Bass and Tim Louis.

City lawyers will be present, and Da Kine is expected to bring its own
legal counsel. The VPD may also make a presentation.

Paul Teichroeb, Vancouver's chief licence inspector, says there was no
suggestion marijuana might be sold in the shop when Da Kine was
granted a business licence May 4.

"We were somewhat concerned, so we were very careful to ask them about
exactly their type of business and what they were going to sell," he
said Wednesday.

"We were assured it was going to be publications and some food, and
that everything would conform to the by-law, and on that basis we
issued a licence.

"We were very specific about whether there was going to be any illegal
activity or sale of marijuana or other products, and we were assured
that that wasn't going to occur on the premise."

Da Kine proprietor Carol Gwilt said the marijuana is sold not by Da
Kine, but by the Canadian Cannabis Sanctuary Society, a non-profit
society to which Da Kine donates operating space.

Purchasers are asked to fill out an "application for registration"
with a declaration that "ingesting cannabis has therapeutic benefits
to my medical condition and my general state of well-being that
outweigh any health risks associated with it."

Possession of a one-month supply of medicinal marijuana is legal in
Canada for people who are terminally or chronically ill and who apply
to Health Canada for approval. About 900 people across Canada have
been approved, but a legal source of medicinal marijuana remains a
problem.

The model has similarities to that of the B.C. Compassion Club, an
eight-year-old organization that focuses on distributing cannabis to
those who need it to treat symptoms of a medical condition, such as
nausea and appetite loss caused by cancer treatment.

Compassion Club founder Hilary Black said the club does not simply
sell to anyone who asks.

"I would say we have more stringent requirements, and the other thing
that makes us very different is that we provide health care," she said
Wednesday. "We have a complete wellness centre where we're providing a
whole range of holistic health care to our clients."

She said the Compassion Club is able to exist largely because of
long-standing relationships with officials and lawmakers, and adds the
organization is sufficiently well-established to differentiate itself
from businesses like Da Kine.

However, she added that she understands what Da Kine is
doing.

"I think it's really important for people to be able to access
recreational cannabis in an above-board, clean environment. I do
believe that what Da Kine is doing is part of a greater harm-reduction
program for this city."

Coleman said it's ironic that the city of Vancouver won't allow
spirits or hard liquor to be sold in beer and wine stores, and yet is
willing to turn a blind eye to the open sale of marijuana from stores.

"There are some people who actually think it's okay to mollycoddle
with regard to drugs. I don't buy that," Coleman said. "I don't know
whether the city councillors or people in Vancouver are not going down
to the downtown east side and seeing the impact of these types of
things on people in that community, but the fact of the matter is that
if someone is breaking the law, my expectation is that the law will be
enforced."

Gwilt took issue with remarks made Tuesday by tourism officials and
the Vancouver Board of Trade, who said the open sale of marijuana is
hurting the city's tourism business.

"If you came in here on any given day, there would be a number of
tourists here," she said. "We get calls from all over North America
because for the past four months, we've been in Cannabis Culture and
on POT-TV, so people that are looking for cannabis when they're
thinking of coming to Vancouver find us, and that seals their trip for
them.

"There are so many people that used to go to Amsterdam, and now
they're coming to Vancouver for this. People are moving to the area
because they think it's just fabulous and so progressive."

[Alfa]

POT CAFE TO BE STOPPED: B.C.

Police to investigate marijuana on menu

VANCOUVER - Police will stop ignoring the illegal marijuana menu-offerings
at a local cafe, B.C. Solicitor General Rich Coleman predicted yesterday.
The Da Kine Cafe, located in the city's funky Commercial Drive area, has
been the subject of blazing headlines lately for allegedly selling pot over
the counter.

"It shouldn't be happening. It's illegal. And frankly, my expectation is
that over the next number of days an investigation will allow us to deal
with this thing," Coleman said.

"I don't think we need a ho-hum attitude on anything to do with drugs.
You've got people driving in to a neighbourhood, buying marijuana, smoking
it and driving away in their cars. That's people who are now under the
influence of something. That, to me, is unacceptable."

Vancouver police spokeswoman Sarah Bloor said the department is against any
business operating in a criminal manner.

She said the cafe is known to police and they will be investigating. "We
will be taking a look at this cafe," Bloor said.

"It's something that's on our radar. But we also have to go through a
methodical process in which to collect and gather evidence that may be
sufficient for any court proceedings."

Another city shop owner is peddling equipment to help people do drugs,
selling "bubble bags" that refine hashish for $600.

The owner of The Spirit Within, Bryan Hamilton, boasted to a Vancouver
newspaper this week that his business is "liquid cash."

While not wanting to speak specifically about the Vancouver situation,
Justice Minister Irwin Cotler told Sun Media that some people are confusing
decriminalization and legalization. "I think the message on this issue of
decriminalization ... allowed people to infer from that that we're
legalizing marijuana," he said.

Marijuana can only be sold legally in Canada to those who can prove they
have a medicinal need for it.

Prime Minister Paul Martin told reporters in Kelowna yesterday that he has
no intention of legalizing pot. He said legislation to decriminalize
possession of small amounts of marijuana "should be resurrected ... but
we're not prepared to go further."

[Alfa]

CAFE 'OPENLY FLOUTING' DRUG LAWS RAIDED BY DOZENS OF CITY POLICE

Da Kine Cafe, a Vancouver head shop that had allegedly been openly
selling marijuana for the past four months, was raided last night by
dozens of police officers.

Const. Sarah Bloor said police executed a search warrant at the cafe
in the 1000-block Commercial Drive at about 6 p.m. Six people were
arrested in the raid that saw undercover police in masks, including
one wearing a T-shirt with "Legalize It" on the front, and other
officers shut down the store.

Bloor said police began investigating the store because owner Carol
Gwilt was "openly flouting" drug laws. Information about evidence and
other possible charges will be announced today.

"It was obvious that these individuals had made this a very public
event," Bloor said. "We felt it was necessary to act . . . this is an
illegal act. We will uphold the law."

And act they did.

A one-block stretch of the Drive was shut down between Parker and
Napier, obstructing rush-hour traffic and forcing business owners to
close. Crews filming Fantastic Four on Napier, complete with set
pieces designed to make the street look like Brooklyn, shut down the
shoot for the night.

A crowd of about 100 quickly gathered at police roadblocks at each end
of the block to heckle officers, at times turning their attention to
the media, also hemmed in by barricades.

Shouts of "Go home," "Legalize Marijuana" and "We support Da Kine
Cafe" sounded from behind the barricades, along with creative strings
of profanity and assorted verbal abuse. Several protesters smoked
joints in front of police.

Pot activist David Malmo-Levine vowed to continue the resistance today
with a marijuana smokeout in front of the store at 11 a.m., followed
by a news conference by Da Kine management at 1 p.m.

"We are not going to let this go down. This place is going to open
again," Malmo-Levine said to cheers.

"I think it's a sad thing," said 32-year-old Shiraz Dindar of the raid.

"I feel empathy for the police because they are human beings. But as
human beings, your responsibility is to be true and do what is right.
What is happening here today is wrong."


The raid came one day after Solicitor-General Rich Coleman, a former
Mountie, said the open sale of drugs at the cafe was unacceptable and
that something would be done. He was not available for comment last
night.

Bloor insisted the raid had nothing to do with political pressure.

"We are here today to uphold the rule of law," she said, adding that
police enjoyed the "overwhelming support" of neighbours.

A second establishment less than 40 metres from Da Kine is also
allegedly selling marijuana, but that business was not raided.

"That's not to say it isn't on our radar," Bloor noted.

Earl Sunshine, 36, said he had bought pot from Da Kine dozens of times
for a medical need he did not disclose. Although the cafe was selling
marijuana over the counter, it actually deterred dealers, Sunshine
said. "It cleans up the community," he said.

"When they opened, [street dealers] all closed down."

A city hall business licence hearing originally scheduled for Sept. 15 has
been postponed to Oct. 6. after Da Kine hired a lawyer. The panel of three
city councillors will decide what to do with the cafe's business licence,
which allows it to offer limited food service and sell books, gifts and
clothing. It had been selling an array of pipes and rolling paper, as well
as marijuana for $10 a gram.

[Alfa]

MEDICAL POT SHOP SHUT DOWN

Federal agents Friday raided a Roseville medical marijuana dispensary
and the owner's Newcastle farm, seizing hundreds of plants that had
been the root of a neighborhood uproar.

Drug Enforcement Agency officers simultaneously served federal search
warrants at Richard Marino's business and home. Marino, who opened the
Capitol Compassionate Care dispensary in January, said the raids were
a complete surprise.

No arrests have been made.

"I thought I was doing everything above board," Marino said during a
phone interview from an undisclosed location. "I still think I'm doing
everything aboveboard."

Employees at Marino's store on Lincoln Way in Old Roseville were
shaken by the DEA raid. Alan Archuleta, a shift manager, said agents
stormed in at 9:30 a.m., guns drawn, and yelling for everyone inside
to get on the ground.

Archuleta said he was in a back room, and when he stuck his head into
the hallway he was met with a gun in the face.

"Initially I was very shocked," he said. "I thought we were being
robbed until I saw the badge. For a split second, it was very
traumatizing."

Archuleta said Marino's son - who works at the store and shares his
father's name - was handcuffed after agents gathered employees'
identification but was later released.

DEA officials, who shut down the store, said they had no knowledge of
anyone being handcuffed when the warrants were served, and declined
further comment.

Marino and his business - the subject of multiple news stories after
it opened - have been the subject of an ongoing DEA investigation,
officials said during a news conference Friday.

Because the investigation is continuing, agents provided little
information on the case.

"We will collect all the evidence and present the case to the U.S.
attorney's office," said Gordon Taylor, agent-in-charge of the DEA's
Sacramento office.

The decision to issue arrest warrants would be up to the U.S.
attorney, he said.

While Marino is breaking federal law, which holds that possessing and
cultivating marijuana is illegal, he is not breaking state law.

California voters in 1996 passed Proposition 215, which allows
qualified patients to use medical marijuana.

And last year, the Legislature passed a law that enabled the growing
and selling of medicinal marijuana. The law broadened the definition
of a medical marijuana caregiv
er and allows for the drug's collective
cultivation.

The conflict between state and federal law regarding medical marijuana
deepened recently after two rulings by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of
Appeals held that federal authorities do not have the power to go
after noncommercial medical marijuana operations confined within the
state.

The U.S. Department of Justice is appealing the cases to the U.S.
Supreme Court.

Richard Meyer, special agent in the DEA's San Francisco division, said
dispensaries operating elsewhere in the state also are in violation of
the law.

"They should know that they are breaking the law," Meyer said. "They
should get out of the business of selling drugs."

Since early July, Marino has been growing hundreds of marijuana plants
on the 5 acres he recently purchased in Newcastle. The plants were
surrounded by barbed-wire fencing, and security guards patrolled the
property 24 hours a day.

A Bee article last month explained how his move to the rural community
angered some neighbors.

Residents had taken their fears of increasing crime and decreasing
property values to Placer County officials, who told them nothing
could be done because of the state law and the property's
residential-agricultural zoning.

On Friday, several neighbors watched as federal agents dug up the
marijuana plants and carried them to a U-Haul truck.

Agents said the marijuana will be destroyed, but declined to say how
many plants were seized or what their value was.

"This is wonderful," said Mike Ford, who lives next to Marino. "It's
long overdue. It should have been done the day after he got here."

Ben and Gloria Padilla, along with Ford and several other neighbors,
had written lawmakers about their frustration over the county's
inability to take action. Ben Padilla said the raid was a welcome surprise.

"I'm glad. In fact, all the neighbors are," he said.

Medical marijuana dispensaries are not uncommon in the Bay Area, but
Marino's store was the only one of its kind in the Sacramento area
when it opened last winter.

A few months later, a dispensary opened in Colfax. That store remains
open, and its owner couldn't be reached for comment Friday.

[32785]

That's bullshit that Da Kine got raided, this is one of my stomping grounds and it sucks. FirstI had to see Blunt bros. burn down, and now this. Soon, very soon, these laws are going to change.

[Alfa]

POT CAFE REOPENS DAY AFTER RAID

VANCOUVER -- Less than one day after a police raid on Vancouver's
controversial pot cafe, a new load of marijuana was delivered and
business was brisk as customers lined up to buy, roll and smoke B. C.
bud.

Joint-smoking tourists hammed outside Da Kine Cafe on Commercial
Drive, shooting photos of themselves exhaling clouds of pungent smoke.

As afternoon sales continued, a number of cafe staff members arrested
in the police raid the night before appeared in provincial court on
drug charges.

Vancouver police seized 20 pounds of marijuana, a pound of hashish and
$63,000 cash during the raid on Da Kine, which senior police officials
characterized as a significant drug house.

Investigators counted more than 230 visitors to the business within an
hour and a half during their surveillance, said Insp. Dave Nelmes,
head of the Vancouver police drug section, and the store did some
$30,000 of business a day.

He said the store's cash register indicated Da Kine had made $27,000
in sales on the day of the raid.

Drug squad investigators arrested seven cafe staff members and Nelmes
said police have recommended to Crown prosecutors that they be charged
with drug trafficking and possession of marijuana for the purpose of
trafficking.

Of the 33 customers in the store, Nelmes said some were 18 years old
and younger though he said he did not know how many were teenagers.

"This was not a small, insignificant passion club," said Acting Deputy
Chief Bob Rolls. "This was a drug house and a very significant operation."

Nelmes said an Aug. 26 tip to the Crime Stoppers line alerted police
that Da Kine was selling pot, several days before cafe owner Carol
Gwilt went public about the store's marijuana sales and the plea that
the four-month-old business be allowed to stay open.

Rolls added that police had received a complaint about Da Kine through
its Grandview Woodlands community policing office and another
complaint from a citizen.

He said Da Kine's "flaunting their criminal activity and demonstrating
their contempt for the laws of Canada" elevated it as a priority for
police.

"We're concerned about enforcing the rule of law," Rolls said. "We're
also concerned about the message it sends not to go out and take care
of these places. So, it was in fro
nt of the public, and we took action."

Nelmes added that the drug squad decided last week that it could go
ahead with the raid based on its available resources and plans for
other investigations.

"(Thursday) seemed like the best day to do it," he
said.

Nelmes added that his unit's investigation "covered a lot of premises
on Commercial Drive," and that they have obtained evidence for
possible future actions.

Rolls repeated that B.C. Solicitor General Rich Coleman's statement
Wednesday that open pot sales were unacceptable while city politicians
took "ho hum attitude" had no bearing on the police action.

[Alfa]

POLICE SWOOP ON POT CAFE ENDS WITH SIX ARRESTS

VANCOUVER -- Two dozen Vancouver police officers arrested six people
Thursday afternoon in a raid on a busy Commercial Drive cafe that openly
sold marijuana.

Vancouver police spokeswoman Const. Sarah Bloor said the six arrested inside
Da Kine cafe face charges of trafficking a controlled substance.

Outside, some in a crowd of over 200 people taunted police officers who
blocked Commercial between Parker and Napier streets about 6 p.m., stopping
business at about 20 shops.

The crowd cheered as Peg General Store played Bob Marley's songs Get Up,
Stand Up, and I Shot the Sheriff, while others smoked marijuana.

Police said they executed a search warrant at Da Kine in response to
complaints by community residents, including Britannia secondary school and
the Grandview Woodland Community Policing Centre.

Bloor said police acted because Da Kine has "been very blatant" about
selling marijuana over the counter.

"It was obvious they made this a public event by flaunting their activity,"
Bloor said.

She said the police action was "not to react to politicians. This is a
criminal activity."

Thursday's raid came the day after B.C. Solicitor General Rich Coleman said
it was unacceptable for marijuana to be openly sold in Vancouver stores
while city politicians take a "ho-hum attitude" to the illegal activity.
Coleman does not direct police operations or investigations, but said
Wednesday he was confident the law would be enforced.

When asked about the protests by Da Kine supporters, Bloor said: "There's
overwhelming support by other neighbourhoods" for the police action.

Bloor said police were still gathering evidence in the cafe Thursday night.
She did not say whether police would raid other shops on Commercial Drive
and Hastings Street that are also believed to be selling marijuana. Across
the street from Da Kine, The Spirit Within shop was closed.

People in the crowd chanted: "We support Da Kine." Others mocked the police,
yelling: "It only took four months to figure it out," referring to Da
Kine's' spring opening.

[Alfa]

POT CAFE RESUMES BUSINESS ONE DAY AFTER POLICE RAID

Acted On Two Complaints

VANCOUVER - Less than one day after a police raid on Vancouver's
controversial pot cafe, a new load of marijuana was delivered and
business was brisk.

Joint-smoking tourists gathered outside Da Kine Cafe, shooting photos
of themselves exhaling clouds of pungent smoke.

As afternoon sales continued, a number of staff members arrested in
the police raid the night before appeared in provincial court on drug
charges.

Vancouver police seized 20 pounds of marijuana, a pound of hashish and
$63,000 cash during the raid on Da Kine, which senior police officials
characterized as a significant drug house.

Investigators counted more than 230 visitors to the business within an
hour and a half during their surveillance, said Inspector Dave Nelmes,
head of the Vancouver police drug section, and the store did some
$30,000 of business a day.

He said the store's cash register indicated Da Kine had made $27,000
in sales on the day of the raid.

Drug squad investigators arrested seven cafe staff members and Insp.
Nelmes said police have recommended to Crown prosecutors they be
charged with drug trafficking and possession of marijuana for the
purpose of trafficking.

"This was not a small, insignificant compassion club," said Acting
Deputy Chief Bob Rolls. "This was a drug house and a very significant
operation."

Insp. Nelmes said an Aug. 26 tip to the Crime Stoppers line alerted
police that Da Kine was selling pot, several days before cafe owner
Carol Gwilt went public about the store's marijuana sales and the plea
that the four-month-old business be allowed to stay open.

Deputy Chief Rolls added police had received a complaint about Da Kine
through a community policing office and another complaint from a citizen.

He said Da Kine's "flaunting their criminal activity and demonstrating
their contempt for the laws of Canada" elevated it as a priority for
police.

Insp. Nelmes said the drug squad decided last week that it could go
ahead with the raid based on its available resources and plans for
other investigations.

Dozens of officers, some wearing balaclavas, descended on Da Kine at
5:40 p.m. on Thursday to serve a search warrant on the cafe.

Police cordoned off a block of Commercial Drive during the raid.
Deputy Chief Ro
lls said the size of the force was unusually large for
a drug-search warrant, but investigators based it on expectations that
there would be a crowd of 200 to 300 people on hand, which there was.

"We had enough [officers] there to discourage activities or
confrontations," he added.

No customers were arrested, but they were all questioned and Insp.
Nelmes said they were all asked whether they had Health Canada
authorization to possess marijuana for medicinal purposes. None could
produce the required certificate.

[Alfa]

VANCOUVER POT SHOP BUSY AGAIN

VANCOUVER - The Da Kine cafe is once again open for business on Commercial
Drive, despite Thursday's police raid that temporarily shut it down.

The cafe has openly sold marijuana over the counter for the past four
months, and its owners say it's business as usual.

In fact, business was brisk on Friday, and by 1 p.m the staff said they had
run out of marijuana.

Police have said they seized nine kilograms of marijuana in Thursday's raid,
plus half a kilogram of hash and 300 baked goods containing marijuana.

One of the Da Kine's owners and seven staff were jailed overnight, with
charges pending.

Police also said the store was taking nearly $30,000 a day. But store
spokesperson Lorne McLeod says Da Kine earns nowhere near that amount.

Staff member serves customer

He also accuses police of being needlessly heavy-handed during Thursday
night's raid.

"If two officers had walked in with a search warrant, and said, 'we're here
to search,' we would have communicated and co-operated completely," he says.

"But that's not what happened. We were treated as if we are criminals."

McLeod says the cafe is a registered non-profit society distributing
marijuana primarily for medicinal purposes.

Customers were being asked to fill in a form on Friday entitled "The
Canadian Sanctuary Society" -- detailing their illness and their doctor's
name.

Staff say they have thousands of completed forms on file -- which will be
used to show Vancouver city hall how many people smoke marijuana.

Monica Towery, who came up from Dallas to buy pot, says she doesn't mind
filling in a form. She also thinks Vancouver police are wasting their time
going after marijuana sales.

"It doesn't hurt anybody. Why don't they spend time going out and busting
people shooting heroin, bringing cocaine into the country. There's nothing
wrong with smoking pot."

[Alfa]

BUSTED POT CAFE REMAINS DEFIANT

A cafe that had been selling marijuana off its menu for about four
months was doing a booming business before media attention and then a
police raid shut it down briefly, police said Friday.

But even as police were releasing details of the raid the night
before, Da Kine Smoke and Beverage Shop was doing a roaring trade.

"We're not going away," said store spokesman Lorne McLeod. "We've paid
our business taxes, our business licence is still valid so why can't
we operate? They've done the raid, here we are again. If they raid us
again, we'll open again."

Dozens of people filled the store buying grams of pot over the
counter. In the back room, gram bags were filled from football-sized
bags of marijuana. A large box filled with marijuana cookies sat to
one side.

During the raid, officers seized $63,000, another $1,700 US, nine
kilograms of marijuana, some hashish and 300 cookies baked with hash
or marijuana, Acting Deputy Chief Bob Rolls told a news conference.

[Alfa]

SIX DETAINED IN CAFE RAID

VANCOUVER -- Officers in a convoy of about 30 cruisers surrounded a
cafe accused of selling marijuana, securing surrounding alley ways and
erecting barricades to keep back angry crowds. Six people were
detained in the raid, which comes a day after B.C.'s Solicitor General
encouraged police to crack down on the Da Kine Cafe.

Officers have been letting it conduct business as usual despite
glaring media reports that it openly sells marijuana over the counter.

Spokeswoman Sarah Bloor said police have been aware of the cafe, that
it has been on their radar but that it takes time to methodically
build a case.

Police were executing a search warrant last night that Bloor said had
been thoroughly investigated.

"If people are blatantly drug trafficking, they can expect a visit.
The Vancouver Police Department has to uphold the law," she said.

"We don't respond to political or public opinion. We have not received
any complaints with regard to this particular cafe. When they openly
flaunted their activity, we felt it necessary to act."

[Alfa]

POT CAFE A HIGH-VOLUME DEALER, SAY POLICE

VANCOUVER - Police say the Da Kine pot cafe on Commercial Drive was
not a small compassion club, but a major drug house that sold more
than $30,000 worth of marijuana every day.

Vancouver police raided the cafe late Thursday afternoon and arrested
all seven staff, who now face drug trafficking charges.

No charges were laid against 33 customers found in the shop by
police.

Drug Squad Insp. Dave Nelmes says police found nine kilograms of
marijuana, much of it packaged for sale -- as well as half a kilogram
of hash and 300 baked goods containing marijuana.

Nelmes says it's obvious business was booming, with $27,000 in sales
on Friday up until the time of the raid. He says police found $63,000
in cash, as well as $1,700 in U.S. currency.

When police first learned of the cafe nearly two weeks ago, they said
it was not high on their list of priorities.

But acting deputy chief Bob Rolls says the store became a priority
after its owner went public.

"They decided to flaunt their criminal activity and demonstrate their
contempt for the laws of Canada," he says.

"And what they in fact did was they elevated the priority of this
issue for the Vancouver Police Department. And we responded
accordingly."

That response involved more than 30 police officers, some of them
wearing balaclavas. Police say the balaclavas were necessary to
protect the identities of drug squad members.

Rolls says the timing of the raid had nothing to do with statements
earlier this week by Solicitor General Rich Coleman and Premier Gordon
Campbell.

Both had criticized the City of Vancouver for not moving quickly
enough to shut down the cafe.

[Alfa]

POT SHOP OPEN DAY AFTER RAID

Vancouver's Da Kine Marijuana Store Sells $30,000 A Day, Police Say

VANCOUVER - Less than one day after a police raid on Vancouver's
controversial pot cafe, a new load of marijuana was delivered and
business was brisk as customers lined up to buy, roll and smoke B.C.
bud.

Joint-smoking tourists hammed outside Da Kine Cafe on Commercial
Drive, shooting photos of themselves exhaling clouds of pungent smoke.

As afternoon sales continued, a number of cafe staff members arrested
in the police raid the night before appeared in provincial court on
drug charges.

Vancouver police seized 20 pounds of marijuana, a pound of hashish and
$63,000 cash during the raid on Da Kine, which senior police officials
characterized as a significant drug house.

Investigators counted more than 230 visitors to the business within an
hour and a half during their surveillance, said Insp. Dave Nelmes,
head of the Vancouver police drug section, and the store did some
$30,000 of business a day.

He said the store's cash register indicated Da Kine had made $27,000
in sales on the day of the raid.

Drug squad investigators arrested seven cafe staff members, and Nelmes
said police have recommended to Crown prosecutors that they be charged
with drug trafficking and possession of marijuana for the purpose of
trafficking.

Of the 33 customers in the store, Nelmes said some were 18 years old
and younger, though he said he did not know how many were teenagers.

"This was not a small, insignificant compassion club," said Acting
Deputy Chief Bob Rolls. "This was a drug house and a very significant
operation."

Nelmes said an Aug. 26 tip to the Crime Stoppers line alerted police
that Da Kine was selling pot, several days before cafe owner Carol
Gwilt went public about the store's marijuana sales and the plea that
the four-month-old business be allowed to stay open.

Rolls added that police had received a complaint about Da Kine through
its Grandview Woodlands community policing office and another
complaint from a citizen.

He said Da Kine's contempt for the laws of Canada elevated it as a
priority for police. "We're concerned about enforcing the
rule of
law," Rolls said. "We're also concerned about the message it sends not
to go out and take care of these places. So, it was in front of the
public, and we took action."

Nelmes added that the drug squad decided last week that it could go
ahead with the raid based on its available resources and plans for
other investigations. Dozens of officers, some wearing balaclavas,
descended on Da Kine at 5:40 p.m. Thursday to serve a search warrant
on the cafe.

Nelmes said there were 41 people in the cafe when police entered, 33
were identified as customers.

No customers were arrested but they were all questioned and Nelmes
said they were asked whether they had Health Canada authorization to
possess marijuana for medicinal purposes. None could produce the
required certificate.

[Alfa]

MARIJUANA CAFE RESTOCKS, REOPENS AFTER POLICE SEIZE STASH

VANCOUVER - The business of selling marijuana buds at a Vancouver cafe
remained brisk yesterday, three days after the store was raided and
its hefty stash confiscated by police.

The Da Kine Cafe was able to restock after the Thursday raid, but ran
out of marijuana to sell late Friday night. Staff promised the weed
sales would resume today. Defiant management has vowed the
controversial shop will not bow to police pressure and cease marijuana
sales, despite advice to the contrary from their lawyer.

"We're not going away. We plan to stay open," manager Lorne McLeod
said outside Da Kine. "We are not doing anything wrong here."

He said the cafe is contemplating legal action against police for
damages to the premises during the raid. Dozens of officers, some
wearing balaclavas to conceal their identities, stormed the cafe.

During the raid, police seized $63,000 in cash, 9.5 kilograms of
marijuana and 450 grams of hashish. Officers also carted away boxes
containing 300 edible marijuana products.

Marijuana sales at Da Kine are co-ordinated by the Canadian Sanctuary
Society, Mr. McLeod said. Buyers must be over 18 and must either
present a federal exemption or register with the society and fill out
an exemption application.

Mr. McLeod said approximately 10,000 such applications have been
filled out in the four months since Da Kine opened.

[Alfa]

POT CAFE HAS RESTOCKED AND SOLD OUT AGAIN IN DAYS SINCE POLICE RAID

Police Recommending Drug-Trafficking Charges Against Da Kine Staff

The business of selling marijuana buds at the Da Kine cafe on
Commercial Drive remains brisk three days after the store was raided
and its hefty stash confiscated by Vancouver police.

Da Kine was able to restock after the Thursday raid, but ran out of
marijuana to sell late Friday. Staff promised sales would resume
today. A defiant management has vowed the controversial shop will not
bow to police pressure and cease pot sales, despite legal advice to do
so.

Management team member Lorne McLeod said the cafe is also
contemplating legal action against police for damages to the premises
during the raid. Dozens of officers, some wearing balaclavas to
conceal their identities, stormed the cafe Thursday night.

"We're not going away. We plan to stay open," McLeod said Friday
outside Da Kine. "We are not doing anything wrong here."

Police beg to differ.

"This was not a small, insignificant compassion club. This was a drug
house and a very significant operation," acting Deputy Chief Const.
Bob Rolls said, adding that the store averaged $30,000 a day in sales
and had plans to establish different locations.

Police seized $63,000 in cash from the store ($27,000 of it in the
till), $1,700 US, 9.5 kilograms of marijuana and 450 grams of hashish
in the raid. Officers also carted away boxes containing 300 edible
marijuana products.

Forty-one people were in the store at the time of the raid, said drug
squad Insp. Dave Nelmes, eight of them staff members. A majority of
the customers were young and none was able to present police with
federal exemptions that would allow them to possess and consume
marijuana legally, Nelmes said.

Seven staff members are charged with trafficking and possession for
the purpose of trafficking. Owner Carol Gwilt is also charged with
possessing proceeds of a crime.

Nelmes said Da Kine, Hawaiian slang for "the best," first came to the
attention of police after someone called in a tip to CrimeStoppers
Aug. 26.

McLeod denied that the store took in $30,000 a day.

"I wish," he said. "We're doing vast business, but not on a profit
basis."

Pot sold at Da Kine is purchased from the Canadian Sanctuary Society,
McLeod said. Buyers at Da Kine must be over 18 and must either present
a federal exemption (allowing them to
possess and consume marijauna)
or register with the society and fill out an exemption application.
The applicant, and some 10,000 have applied through Da Kine, must
swear the marijuana is to alleviate some symptom, condition or disease.

Since 1999, Health Canada has been granting exemptions to the
Controlled Drug and Substance Act to allow sick and dying people to
possess and cultivate marijuana for medicinal use. Applicants need
approval from Health Canada before their marijuana possession is legal.

Monica Towery's stated reason Friday as she plunked down $40 for four
grams of marijuana was "stress."

"I have kids. I have lots of stress," said the 34-year-old Dallas,
Tex., resident.

Police came under heavy criticism for the scope of the Thursday raid
that saw a full block shut down for several hours, a movie production
halted and hundreds of people put behind barricades hurling abuse and
profanities at officers.

Vancouver police spokeswoman Const. Sarah Bloor would not say how many
officers were involved in Thursday's raid, only that "several dozen"
took part. Rolls and Nelmes insisted the raid had nothing to do with
statements made last week by B.C. Solicitor-General Rich Coleman, who
said he believed something should be done about Da Kine.

"We made a decision to do this [the week before]," Nelmes
said.

Coleman declined to comment on the deployment of police resources, but
said the province expects federal laws and provincial laws to be enforced.

However, NDP MP Libby Davies said Prime Minister Paul Martin needs to
act quickly to re-introduce marijuana reforms when Parliament convenes
next month.

Pointing to the raid, Davies, who represents Vancouver East, said in a
statement: "These sorts of situations are going to continue if Paul
Martin and the federal government refuse to face the issue, and as [a]
result lives are ruined because of criminal convictions."

Grandview-Woodland Community Policing office president Eileen Mosca
said she's looking to city hall for some kind of leadership on the
issue of marijuana sales from businesses and she wants Mayor Larry
Campbell and councillors to "have the jam" to take a stand.

"This city deserves better governance than turning a blind eye," Mosca
said. "Come to grips with this as a council. Make a statement as to
whether retail premises are allowed to sell marijuana or not."

[Alfa]

POT CAFES A SIGN OF THE FUTURE

Vancouver Cops Raid Da Kine Cafe

On Thursday, Vancouver police in a convoy of 30 cruisers surrounded the Da
Kine Cafe, erected barricades to hold back angry crowds and detained six
people.

The raid came a day after B.C.'s solicitor general encouraged police to
crack down on the cafe, which is accused of selling marijuana over the counter.

Spokeswoman Sarah Bloor said police -- aware of the cafe through media
reports -- needed time to methodically build a case.

In articles all over the Net, I have been reading about Da Kine, a coffee
shop in Vancouver that has been selling cannabis over the counter for more
than four months.

I think it is wonderful, and hope to see shops like these in every city and
town in Canada.

It can't happen under the Liberal's phony "decriminalization" bill, though.

The fact that Da Kine can exist in Vancouver, and crime and hard drug
activities actually go down in the area, added to the fact that, for more
than 30 years, the same thing has been occurring in Amsterdam, just proves
that prohibition is a colossal failure.

Looking at worldwide statistics, it would almost lead one to believe
prohibition was specifically designed to increase crime and hard drug
activity, not deter it.

Da Kine proves it is beneficial for all of society to end prohibition, and
regulate cannabis sales to adults through shops such as these.

The sky didn't fall, the world didn't end, no kids got any and a few people
had a slightly better day because they had somebody safe to buy their
cannabis from.

That is my kind of Canada.

Of course, continuing to spend billions on failed policies is old news with
our government.

The sponsorship scandal, the gun registry and prohibition are just a few
examples of more than a decade of mismanagement.

As they did with gay marriage and abortion, the government likely just
wants to wait for the courts to decide the law for it.

Judging by its misguided, phony "decrim" bill, it might be for the best,
actually. But, in the meantime, I hope to see shops such as Da Kine open in
my city.

A year
from now, we will see them all over Canada, and it won't be long
before Revenue Canada starts taking its cut.

And that could eventually mean several billion dollars every year we could
spend on health care, education or affordable housing.

Imagine the irony of paying for our military and law-enforcement from
Cannabis Tax Revenues.

Wouldn't we all like to read the headline "Cannabis legalized, taxed,"
rather than read the headline "Taxes raised to fund more marijuana prohibition."
__________________________________________________ ________________________


<CENTER></CENTER>

[Alfa]

POLICE SURROUND VANCOUVER POT CAFE

VANCOUVER (CP) - Officers in a convoy of about 30 vehicles surrounded a
cafe accused of selling marijuana, securing surrounding alley ways and
erecting barricades to keep back angry crowds.

Six people were detained in the raid, which comes a day after B.C.'s
Solicitor General encouraged police to crack down on the Da Kine Cafe.

Officers have been letting it conduct business as usual despite glaring
media reports that it openly sells marijuana over the counter.

Spokeswoman Sarah Bloor said police have been aware of the cafe, that it
has been on their radar but that it takes time to methodically build a case.

Police were executing a search warrant Thursday night that Bloor said had
been thoroughly investigated.

''If people are blatantly drug trafficking, they can expect a visit. The
Vancouver Police Department has to uphold the law,'' she said.

''We don't respond to political or public opinion. We have not received any
complaints with regard to this particular cafe. When they openly flaunted
their activity, we felt it necessary to act.''

The move outraged hundreds of people in the funky Commercial Drive
neighbourhood who filled the street that was festively dressed to look like
a scene from Brooklyn for a movie shoot.

Filming had to be shut down for the raid.

Many screamed at the officers to go home and defiantly smoked joints as
police manning barricades video taped the crowd.

Bloor said massive police presence was necessary to ensure safety of police
and public.

She said no announcement would be made about charges until today.

[Alfa]

EMPLOYEES AT POT CAFE OUT OF JAIL

VANCOUVER -- After spending a night in jail, the seven employees and
the operator of a cafe which has been openly selling marijuana were
released late Friday. Provincial court Judge William Kitchen remarked
that it was "silly" for them to remain in jail.

The arrests were made after Vancouver police seized 9 kg. of
marijuana, 450 g of hashish and $63,000 in cash in Thursday night's
raid on Da Kine, which senior police officials characterized as a
significant drug house.

Da Kine operator Carol Gwilt and her seven staff members are scheduled
to appear again in Vancouver provincial court Oct. 6 on charges of
possessing marijuana for the purpose of trafficking.

Gwilt was also charged with possessing proceeds from a
crime.

A hearing into the cafe's business licence is scheduled at Vancouver
City Hall on the same day as the court appearance.

The judge warned the group they would go to jail if they offend
again.

"Next time, I'll hold you in jail," Kitchen said. "It seems pretty
silly to be held in jail these days for possession of marijuana."

Investigators said they counted more than 230 visitors to the business
within an hour and a half during their surveillance.

[Alfa]

POT CAFE DOES ROARING TRADE AFTER POLICE RAID

Marijuana Shop Serves Hundreds, Vows To Stay Open

VANCOUVER -- A cafe that had been selling marijuana off its menu for
about four months was doing a booming business before media attention
and then a police raid shut it down briefly, police said yesterday.
But even as police were releasing details of the raid the night
before, Da Kine Smoke and Beverage Shop was doing a roaring trade.
"We're not going away," said store spokesman Lorne McLeod. "We've paid
our business taxes, our business licence is still valid so why can't
we operate? They've done the raid, here we are again. If they raid us
again, we'll open again."

Dozens of people filled the store buying grams of pot over the
counter. In the back room, gram bags were filled from football-sized
bags of marijuana. A large box filled with marijuana cookies sat to
one side.

During the raid, officers seized $63,000, another $1,700 US, nine
kilograms of marijuana, some hashish and 300 cookies baked with hash
or marijuana, Acting Deputy Chief Bob Rolls told a news conference.

At one 90-minute period during their surveillance, police saw 230
customers.

They estimate the cafe was doing about $30,000 a day, Rolls said.

McLeod denied the store was taking in such a sum of money. Seven staff
and one customer were taken into custody Thursday night.

There were 33 people in the cafe at the time it was raided. "Charges
have been recommended and are currently before Crown counsel," Rolls
said.

Carol Gwilt, owner of the shop on Vancouver's hip Commercial Drive,
was quoted widely last week as saying she was just trying to be a
"business person" filling a "huge market." She said she didn't
consider what she was doing illegal.

Gwilt was in jail as the store's till rang steadily yesterday.

A staffer named Michael -- he wouldn't give his last name -- said
7,000 people had signed up as members of the Canadian Sanctuary
Society to allow them to buy pot at the store.

"This is a legislative issue," McLeod said. "We will deal with it
politically. We want to get the bad drugs off the street. We do not
support the use of cocaine or drug dealing or gangsters or criminals
or organized crime." Outside the store yesterday, customers openly
smoked pot while a police car sat up the street. "When the SWAT team
an
d the boys came in, they came in with their faces covered in
balaclavas. They had automatic weapons and guns," said Don, another
store employee.

He threatened lawsuits against the city. "They kidnapped our employees
and forcibly confined them and held them against their will. They
looted, stole and trashed our legitimate business," he said.

A customer outside sharing several joints with people called the
police action "overkill." He handed around photos of police wearing
balaclavas in the Thursday raid.

A police spokeswoman said last week the cafe was "on our radar," but
she also said police had not received any complaints and had limited
resources to deal with an issue no one at that time had mentioned as a
problem.

Even Vancouver city councillors were nonplussed at hearing the news.

Coun. Jim Green noted there is a tolerance in Vancouver to these kinds
of establishments.

When dozens of officers swooped down on the cafe Thursday night, it
outraged hundreds of people in the Commercial Drive neighbourhood, who
filled the street that was festively dressed to look like a scene from
Brooklyn for a movie shoot. Filming had to be shut down for the raid.

Many screamed at the officers to go home and defiantly smoked joints
as police manning barricades videotaped the crowd.

A police spokeswoman said the massive police presence was necessary to
ensure safety of police and public. Police defended their actions
yesterday, saying the raid was conducted in full view of the public.

"Trafficking is trafficking, it's against the law, you can't sell it,"
Rolls said.

He also said police are examining other businesses in the area. "We
made a decision to do this last week."

Police received three CrimeStoppers complaints.

A Vancouver city licensing hearing had been scheduled for Sept. 15,
but was put over to Oct. 6 after Da Kine hired a lawyer.

A panel of three councillors will decide what to do with the cafe's
licence. It had been licensed to offer limited food service and sell
books, gifts and clothing.

[Alfa]

'WE WANT TO TAKE POT SALES OFF THE STREET'

Supporters 'Out In Droves,' Says Owner Of Busted Shop

The pot business was smoking yesterday as hundreds of Vancouverites dropped
in to visit the recently busted Da Kine Smoke and Beverege Shop on
Commercial Drive.

Da Kine owner Carol Gwilt said people were showing up to offer their
support after Thursday's well-publicized police bust.

"People are coming out in droves to support us," said Gwilt, who spent
Thursday night in jail and is charged with benefiting from the proceeds of
crime.

Police -- some wearing balaclavas -- seized $63,000 in cash and 9.5
kilograms of marijuana from the shop. Seven staff members were charged.

Yesterday's youngish crowd was lured as much by the shop's notoriety as by
the opportunity to buy high-grade marijuana for $10 a gram.

"Why don't the police just leave it alone?" said one person.

Down the street from Da Kine, the pungent aroma of burning weed was evident
as a threesome toked up.

As customers lounged in sunshine around the shop at 1018 Commercial, a
police cruiser sat parked a block away while another pulled into a side
street. Unmarked cars cruised the neighbourhood and staff at the shop said
undercover officers were in the area.

"We know who the undercover officers are," said Lorne McLeod, a member of
Da Kine's management. "This is intimidation tactics."

Vancouver Coun. Tim Stevenson said the city was placed in an awkward spot,
but police must uphold the law.

"The city can't pick and choose which laws it wants to uphold," he said.
"Obviously, lots of people know how hypocritical this is."

Stevenson said he supports the legalization of marijuana and doesn't
consider the issue "a big deal."

Da Kine representatives will appear before council Oct. 6 to argue against
suspension of their business licence. Coincidentally, staffers are due in
court the same day to answer charges of possession and trafficking.

McLeod said it's all a necessary step in the evolution of laws, and
attitudes toward pot.

"We're not gangsters. We don't carry guns. We're regular people," he said.
"We want to take pot sales off the street, where you get poor quality or
get r
ipped off. If you have a law that is unjust, then to break it is
justified."

Gwilt, 38, acknowledged that "everyone is a bit scared" but added: "You
don't have to be a low-life scum [to smoke pot]."

He said Vancouver already condones drug use and law-breaking at the
safe-injection site in downtown Vancouver.

"Vancouver has a safe-injection site where heroin addicts are shooting up,"
she said.

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[Alfa]

BUSINESS THRIVING AT POT CAFE JUST DAYS AFTER POLICE RAID

Mayor Says Store Doesn't Have A Right To Flout The Law

People were lined up 20-deep for marijuana outside the Da Kine Food
and Beverage shop on Commercial Drive within minutes of its opening at
noon Sunday, while across the street Vancouver Mayor Larry Campbell
said the drug should be legalized.

But the mayor also appeared to backtrack slightly from comments he'd
made earlier in the week that the sale of marijuana at Da Kine was not
a "big deal."

"I support legalization of marijuana, but at the same time that
doesn't mean [Da Kine management] get to flout the law until the law
is changed," Campbell said in an interview outside the Britannia
public library, where staff celebrated the city's decision to allow
four local libraries to open on Sundays.

While Da Kine's selling of marijuana is illegal and a police issue,
Campbell said, his earlier comment that it was not a "big deal" was
made from the point of view that it was open for four months with no
complaints.

"Certainly there is a big deal from the standpoint of legality. It's
illegal, and there's nothing the city can do to change that. It's a
federal law, and this idea that we can pass a bylaw that says coffee
shops can sell marijuana is craziness. We can't do it; it's not a
municipal responsibility."

While Da Kine continues to sell marijuana -- "poking a stick at the
police" -- Campbell says that won't make marijuana legal. adding that
there would obviously be repercussions, referring to Thursday's police
raid at the Commercial Drive pot shop. In addition to a haul of
marijuana and cash, Da Kine owner Carol Gwilt and seven employees were
arrested.

"My answer is you legalize it and tax the living hell out of it. And
every bit of the tax should go straight to health care, not the
general fund," Campbell said.

Da Kine resumed business a day after it was raided by police last
Thursday. In addition to a haul of marijuana and cash, Da Kine owner
Carol Gwilt and seven employees were arrested.

Gwilt and others linked to her shop have said selling marijuana over
the counter for medicinal purposes helps get rid of street peddlers.
But the mayor dismissed that argument as specious, saying, "They [Da
Kine staff] are peddlers themselves."

And Da Kine's marijuana so
urces are involved in organized crime, he
insists.

"The fact of the matter is that it is against the law; it is illegal;
they are trafficking in a drug. Would it make any sense if they opened
up and started selling heroin?"

The mayor's tough talk aside, Gwilt said she is still "proud" of
Campbell for his stance on marijuana.

As customers squeezed inside her store and others lined up outside,
Gwilt, who was possibly contravening a condition of her release from
custody that she stay away from marijuana or any location or person
where it is present, said in a sidewalk interview that if Campbell can
approve of a safe-injection site for heroin users, he should do the
same for those who smoke marijuana.

"There's a safe-injection site in Vancouver although heroin is
illegal. Why? Because there's a need for it, because people are dying
on the street. And our wonderful mayor ... has realized this and has
come to the aid of his people, which is what any good mayor will do,"
Gwilt said.

She described the police raid as a waste of taxpayers' money. "If they
come again it's just absolutely absurd, and if they got the balls
enough to do that, I got the balls enough to open up again ... This is
war."

Gwilt said she works 15 hours a day seven days a week, and smokes pot
during every one of those days for relief from a chronic "vertigo
condition" she has had since she was five.

"I'm able to live each day and get out of my bed because of
marijuana."

A customer leaving her shop after buying an undisclosed amount of
marijuana said he's smoked it daily for 24 years simply to "get high"
because his job as a driver in Vancouver is stressful.

"It takes the edge off, but I'm not a drug addict, except for pot,"
the 57-year-old man said, clutching a plastic container as walked away.

Meanwhile, a spokesman for the Da Kine management, Lorne McLeod, said
Sunday the possibility of opening a similar store had come up.

"Opening elsewhere has been a thought, if we make money," he said,
without elaborating.

Gwilt and her seven employees are scheduled to appear in Vancouver
provincial court Oct. 6 on charges of possessing marijuana for the
purpose of trafficking. Gwilt is also charged with possessing proceeds
from a crime.

Gwilt told The Sun that representatives of her business are "trying to
negotiate" with the city, ahead of a hearing the same day on whether
its business licence will be revoked.

The city says Da Kine was granted a business licence in 2004 to offer
limited food service and to sell publications, gifts and clothing.

Da Kine, however, claims that its intention to sell marijuana for
medicinal purposes was indicated on its licence application.