CAFE OWNER GETS 15 MONTHS IN JAIL FOR SELLING POT

Carol Gwilt Had Openly Sold The Drug At Commercial Drive
Establishment

The owner of the now defunct Da Kine Cafe on Commercial Drive has been
sentenced to 15 months in jail for openly selling marijuana to customers.

At the height of the coffee shop's success in the summer of 2004,
police say it attracted thousands of customers to its doors, gaining
international attention.

Justice Catherine Wedge of the B.C. Supreme Court took only minutes to
render her decision in sentencing Carol Gwilt.

Gwilt, 39, who has no previous criminal record, told reporters during
a break in the proceedings she was prepared to receive a lengthy
prison sentence, but admitted she found the reality of the situation
difficult to accept.

"I think it's really hardcore. I'm going to have a hard time," she
said.

The length of the jail term was part of a joint sentencing submission
made to the court earlier in the day's proceedings by Crown counsel
Paul Riley and defence lawyer Jason Gratl. The submission also called
for a 10-year firearms ban and forfeiture of all cash and a vehicle
seized by police following Gwilt's arrest.

In May, Gwilt was found guilty of charges of possession of marijuana
for the purposes of trafficking and possession of proceeds of crime
charges involving Da Kine. She pleaded guilty to a second set of
possession for the purposes of trafficking and possession of proceeds
of crime charges in July, again involving Da Kine.

Earlier on Friday, Gratl asked the judge to consider imposing a more
lenient sentence on Gwilt, urging her to consider Vancouver's more
relaxed attitude towards the sale and use of marijuana.

"How bad a crime is depends on the community and the community's
attitude towards the crime," he argued.

Gratl said his client had been given "conflicting messages" from
authorities in the months leading up to the raid on her business on
Sept. 9, 2004, in which investigators seized nine kilograms of
marijuana, some hashish and 300 cannabis-laced cookies, as well as
about $60,000.

One week later, on Sept. 16, police arrested her in a car along with a
bag of marijuana and some $5,000.

Though the sale and recreational use of marijuana is illegal in
Canada, Gratl said his client was able to openly dispense pot to
thousands of customers for five months without any interference from
authorities -- including police, health authorities and city hall.

Gratl also told the judge that Gwilt never meant any disrespect to the
courts when she was rearrested days after the Sept. 9 police raid for
breaching her bail conditions by continuing to operate the cafe.

"The point is, when she defied the order, she was defying the
[Vancouver Police Department] and their search. She was not defying
the judiciary," he said.

But the judge put a swift end to Gratl's arguments, calling them
irrelevant.

"[Gwilt] has accepted responsibility for the offences," the judge
said. "I simply can't have it both ways: 'I'm responsible, but I want
you to take into account the actions of others.' "

In an interview outside court prior to sentencing Friday, Gwilt said
she will never again flout the law as she did in 2004.

"I wouldn't do it again like that," she said of her involvement with
the cafe.

She said her reason for trafficking marijuana was never about making
money.

"I was trying to make a good, positive thing happen in Vancouver. It
just became too much of a good thing," she said.

But Gwilt said she has nothing now to show for her once-booming
business.

"I definitely didn't get a thing out of this except a jail sentence,"
she said.

A medical marijuana user who is legally permitted to smoke and possess
pot under a Health Canada exception to ease symptoms associated with
chronic vertigo, Gwilt openly smoked a marijuana joint outside the
courthouse.

Friends said they feared Gwilt's health will suffer in jail where she
will not have access to marijuana.

"Jail is not a safe place," said a tearful supporter, Dori Dempster,
adding she was disappointed the judge failed to consider Gwilt's
medical need for marijuana during sentencing.

Dempster said her last words to her friend before she was led off to
jail were those of encouragement: "I said, 'We love you.' And we hope
that love is going to keep her safe."

Outside court, Gratl declined to comment about his client's sentence,
saying: "It's within the appropriate range of sentencing."

"There's a question of law and a question of feeling. If it was a
question of how I am feeling, [Gwilt] would still be out here," he
said.

Gratl noted that several businesses where marijuana can be purchased
and openly smoked remain operating in Vancouver "without disruption
from police in a manner similar to the Da Kine."

He said heavy media attention focussed on the Da Kine during its
months of operation likely contributed to its demise.

"I have no doubt the store was a victim of its own success," he said.