VIOLENCE PLAGUES CITY'S TOP POT SPOT

The badly beaten body of a 21-year-old lay tangled amongst trash in a
downtown Vancouver dumpster.

In life Allister Irvine Marselje had made a living by weighing,
bagging and delivering one-gram bags of marijuana to sellers at the
Cross Town Traffic Cafe at 314 W. Hastings St.

In death, Marselje was a frightening illustration of the violence
brewing on the short block where hemp and pot are celebrated,
advocated, sold and smoked.

West Hastings between Hamilton and Homer streets is a mecca to pot
smokers worldwide. People ranging from Texas lawyers to California
surfers make the trek, pay their money and, in numerous cafes in the
area, they sit down and get stoned.

Vancouver police Det. Rick Crook said that while investigating
Marselje's murder he was disturbed at the violence and turf war that
has followed the staggering amount of money being made by the trade in
B.C.'s most sought-after export.

Crook said the Cross Town Traffic Cafe sold three pounds of pot a day
last summer, bringing in over $10,000 a day on $10 one-gram bags.

"You kind of think of the pot trade as being peaceful and laid back.
This is the last group of people you would imagine to be involved in
this kind of violence," said Crook. "I want to make sure the street
starts helping out. If they want it to be this peaceful, fun-loving
place . . . then it has to have that violent element taken away."

Marselje's body was discovered Dec. 5 by a dumpster diver picking
through bins behind the Cross Town Traffic Cafe.

A police raid on the cafe in November caused the then-owner to flee
and, one night, the business was vandalized and a new group took
control of the sales.

"That was a strong message," Crook said.

Marselje worked for the new regime.

Police allege Marselje was beaten in the back of the cafe after he
spoke about a contract on the life of a major player in the cafe's pot
business.

Whether the contract was real or just an empty threat, Marselje was
subjected to a ferocious beating and paid with his life.

On Feb. 5 three men were arrested for his murder. Charged with
second-degree murder is Alhaj Hadani. The 28-year-old is in custody.
Charged with manslaughter are Ross Living, 22, and Jamie Yochlowitz,
25. Both are on bail and all three accused appear in court Monday to
set a trial date.

Another man was arrested Tuesday in Hull, Que. Roger Jean Caron, 28,
is charged with being an accessory to murder after the fact. Vancouver
police officers have gone east to bring him here.

Crook, who won't speak specifically on Marselje's death because of the
pending trial, said the young man isn't the only casualty in the
battle for pot profits.

A group of about six men associated with the cafe, who call themselves
the House of Pain, regularly beat hard-drug users and others who they
don't feel belong in the area, he said.

Crook said 30 people have been badly beaten since October.

Mark Smith, a friend of Marselje's and a pot dealer who now runs a
private smoking club off a hallway in the cafe, said last year's shift
of power to "ruthless gangsters" dramatically altered the culture in
the area.

"This was a violence-free zone," said Smith, who pocketed $70,000 in
three months of pot sales last summer. "The vibe was good. It was a
beautiful place to be."

On a wall outside his club, called The Lounge, Smith had a friend
paint a waterfall in memory of Marselje. At the bottom of the picture,
Smith has painted: "The summer of '98 will be in my heart forever,
beside the memory of our fallen friend. We know you're safe now. Rest
in peace, my brother."

Smith defended the House of Pain, who he said policed the street when
the police wouldn't.

The House of Pain "were never a threat to us. They kept the junkies,
the crack heads and the dealers off our streets."

"They made it safe for people to be here. It was for the sake of the
block. Nobody was hurt down here for the hell of it or for fun."

Smith said "hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of thousands of
dollars" are being made on the block, and as long as the cash is up
for grabs and the sale of pot illegal, the hardcore criminal element
will be there.

"Decriminalize it and privatize it," Smith said of pot. "I would have
no problem paying taxes on what I do. The tax money could mean so
much. The government should look at the money down here and do
something about it."

Sister Icee, owner of Hemp BC, was shocked by Marselje's killing but
said laws against marijuana use are letting violence fester.

"This is what prohibition brings into society," she said. "It creates
this black market and, because it is unregulated, it is like the Wild
West. Whoever has the biggest stick wins."

Smith's memories of Marselje and his brutal end still haunt him. Last
summer he wouldn't walk down the street without a gun, a baton, and a
can of bear spray.

Sitting with him in his club are his pit bull Molly and a Rottweiler
puppy. The entrance is behind a metal gate. John Lennon and Bob Marley
grace the walls.

Smith plays host to his 30-odd members in a room just a staircase away
from where his friend was beat to death.

He makes no apologies for his line of work, but these days he's not
sure he'll stick around.

"It [the killing] shouldn't happen again, but I can't say it won't.
I'm not going to be the next one who goes," he said.