POT CAMPAIGNER ARRESTED

MANCHESTER, England -- A campaigner for the legalization of marijuana was
arrested yesterday after opening Britain's first Dutch-style cafe openly
selling the drug.

Colin Davies, a multiple sclerosis sufferer who uses marijuana to ease his
symptoms, was involved in a scuffle with police soon after opening the
doors of The Dutch Experience in a Manchester suburb 300 kilometres
northwest of London.

As he was put into the back of a police van, one of his supporters shouted,
"He's a healer, not a dealer."

A spokeswoman for Greater Manchester Police said Davies was arrested for
possessing marijuana "with intent to supply" it to others.

Davies, founder of the Medical Marijuana Co-operative, which campaigns for
the drug to be prescribed for illnesses like multiple sclerosis, made
headlines last year when he was photographed handing the Queen a bouquet
containing pot plants during a royal visit to the city.

After Davie's arrest yesterday, police searched the cafe and arrested
several other people for possessing the drug, which is more commonly called
cannabis in Britain.

Kate Bradley, a former policewoman who has smoked marijuana since 1991 to
ease the pain of multiple sclerosis, said the police raid was an
"undignified and horrendous experience."

Bradley, who uses a wheelchair, said: "It controls my pain and the spasms I
get, and a lot of medical people believe that cannabis should be used to
help people like me."