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.