COUNCILLORS MELLOW ABOUT POT CAFE ON THE DRIVE

Several Vancouver city councillors appeared relatively unconcerned
Thursday about reports of a cafe on Commercial Drive openly selling
pot.

"I think as a city, we have much more important issues that need our
immediate attention," said Coun. Tim Louis.

"I don't know that it's one of the most important issues," said Coun.
Anne Roberts. "I'm more concerned about single-resident occupancy
hotels that violate our bylaws, or places that fence stolen goods --
that concerns me much, much more."

Carol Gwilt, owner of Da Kine Smoke and Beverage Shop at 1018
Commercial Drive, is scheduled to appear Sept. 15 at a hearing to
determine whether the city will revoke the cafe's business licence
because Gwilt has admitted to making over-the-counter sales of marijuana.

Barb Windsor, Vancouver's deputy chief licensing inspector, said
Thursday a panel of three city councillors will hear evidence relating
to the operation of Da Kine before making a recommendation to city
council.

"The panel will determine if any action should be taken against the
business licence," Windsor said. "If the decision by council is to
revoke the licence, [the proprietor] could be told to close
immediately, or be given a timeline."

Initial information indicated Coun. Tim Stevenson had knowledge of the
cafe's activities before it hit the front page of The Vancouver Sun
Thursday, but Stevenson has since denied that. He said he found out
about it from media sources on Wednesday.

Stevenson said he had just received minutes from a July 15 meeting he
attended with about a dozen Commercial Drive entrepreneurs, and said
there was no mention of illegal drug sales in the neighbourhood.

"There was one section on what they call problem premises, residential
and business, and it doesn't even mention the word 'marijuana,' let
alone a mention of that particular business [Da Kine]," he said.

Other councillors said they didn't see it as a problem, regardless of
whether Stevenson was aware of the business.

"If [Stevenson] did know about it in advance, he did the right thing
by not raising it as an issue," Louis said. "I don't think there's any
problem with him not raising it."

Roberts said she also heard about the Da Kine cafe through the
media.

She said the issue needed to be looked into, adding that council
doesn't support people violating bylaws. However, she said such places
were not her top priority.

Coun, Jim Green said the current complaint process should be adequate
for handling such matters.

"I checked throughout the city and with other councillors and there
have been absolutely no complaints about this store. We get complaints
about everything -- I've got five or six e-mails today about a guy
parking a truck by a construction site. I would assume that Councillor
Stevenson thought our staff will report to us if there's an issue
here, and that's the normal way we deal with things."

The Da Kine cafe is licensed to operate as a limited-service food
establishment. It is permitted to sell pre-packaged food -- no food
preparation on-site is allowed -- along with publications, gifts and
clothing.

No smoking is permitted on the premises, while seating for a maximum
number of 16 people is authorized for both inside and outside.

The business licence, which cost $311, expires Dec. 31.

Vancouver police spokeswoman Const. Sarah Bloor said earlier the
police force "had concerns" when the cafe first applied for a licence
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 it opened four months ago, although
no drugs are displayed.

She told reporters she considers her cafe to be a vital part of
Vancouver's harm reduction plan when it comes to dealing with drug
use, and hopes the city and police allow her to stay in business.

"I don't consider what I'm doing to be illegal," Gwilt said. "Cannabis
needs to be removed from the Criminal Code."

Gwilt did not return phone calls Thursday.

Bloor reiterated Thursday that while police were aware of the
situation at the cafe, no investigation was undertaken because of a
lack of resources.

"We can only do so much with what we have," she said, adding the
department is more interested in cracking down on serious criminals
and large crime organizations.

"Our priority is to investigate [marijuana] grow-ops and organized
crime," said Bloor, pointing to the recent seizure of about 450
kilograms of pot -- with a street value exceeding $1 million --from
three Vancouver residences.

As for the Da Kine cafe, Bloor said: "[Police] can't just go in to
arrest and seize. You have to get search warrants. You just can't walk
in and shut down an operation.

"If we can work with the city to have their licence pulled, we'll do
that."