FORMER CAFE OWNER FACING DRUG CHARGES WANTS A TRIAL BY JURY

VANCOUVER - The owner of a now-closed smoke and beverage cafe wants a
jury trial for several charges she faces relating to the sale of marijuana.

Carol Gwilt said Tuesday she wants to be judged before her peers on
the issues. "Because most of the people in this country want cannabis
to be legal as I do," Gwilt told reporters outside provincial court.

She said she doesn't see a problem with finding a like-minded
jury.

"Well, I had 14,000 people in my store in less than two weeks, so I
think I can get 12 people at the court."

Police raided the Da Kine cafe on Vancouver's trendy Commercial Drive
in September after media coverage of the shop.

Gwilt is charged with trafficking in marijuana and benefiting from the
proceeds of crime. She also faces charges of breaking her bail
conditions when police arrested her a week after the initial raid.

She spent almost a month in jail after the second arrest before being
released on a promise not to contact her co-accused in the case -- the
cafe's seven former employees.