COPS VOW SMOKE OUT AT POT CAFE

Tokers will face arrests on the spot

Montreal police are warning pot smokers to stay away from a planned
marijuana cafe on St. Denis St. or face arrests on the spot.

But Hugo Saint-Onge, the leader of the Bloc Pot political party, vowed late
yesterday to open Chez Marijane at the end of the month, maintaining that he
is not intimidated by the police.

Although the Amsterdam-style cafe will not sell cannabis, patrons will be
encouraged to "bring their own joint."

"The police are there to do their job and we will do our job," Saint-Onge
said.

"They want to arrest people and frighten them, but we want to end the
marijuana prohibition, and we will work toward that."

Montreal police adopted the apparent zero-tolerance policy toward marijuana
cafes after members of the Bloc Pot and Marijuana Party publicly stated
their intentions on the weekend.

"Whether or not you open a place that allows pot smoking in there, it's
still illegal to possess marijuana, according to the Criminal Code and we
will not tolerate that at all," said Constable Yannick Ouimet.

"If we catch people with marijuana, they'll be arrested. If we catch people
selling drugs, they'll be arrested for trafficking."

Yannick refused to say whether police would raid a marijuana cafe or monitor
it closely.

"We are not going to reveal the way that we investigate, that's for sure.
I'm not going to tell you whether we're going to go inside or not, but what
I can tell you is that the laws that are being applied now will be applied
then."

Saint-Onge faces another challenge: the landlord of the building north of
Ontario St. has said he won't allow such a cafe.

Saint-Onge, however, argued he's within his rights to open a cafe, and in
any case he's subletting the space from the current tenant, Stomp Records.

"He knew what we were going to do, but now he's afraid to lose tenants in
his building," Saint-Onge said, adding he's not changing his plans.

Bloc Pot and Marijuana Party members say the are taking advantage of the
legal limbo surrounding pot possession following court rulings in Ontario,
New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.

In May, Ontario Superior Court Justice Stephen Rogin upheld a lower-court
decision to acquit a Windsor teenager of possessing less than 30 grams of
marijuana.

Saint-Onge noted that a man charged with marijuana possession is to appear
in Quebec Court in Valleyfield at the end of the month, and he hopes that
the court rules similarly.

Across Canada, a small number of coffeehouses have been encouraging
customers to smoke joints in their establishments. A similar cafe should
open in Toronto this fall.

Montreal police have taken a hard stand against marijuana possession. In
February 2000, police arrested two people at the Compassion Club on charges
of drug trafficking, even though the purpose of the club is to sell
marijuana for medical reasons.

The two, including Marc-Boris St. Maurice - one of the organizers of Chez
Marijane - were acquitted last year.