EVEN POT ACTIVIST AGREES CITY SHOULD HAVE GROUND OUT CAFE

It has truly gone Up in Smoke. The two-year-old pot palace that
caused so much controversy has butted out for good. With owner Chris
Goodwin chilling for the past three weeks in the Barton Street jail
on charges of possession of marijuana, possession for the purpose of
trafficking and breaching conditions, the King Street East cafe has
officially closed shop.

Yet opponents are still angry the cannabis cafe was ever allowed to
open in the first place. While there's lots of finger-pointing over
who should have done what, most of the blame sticks to the city's
licensing department.

The police blame the city. So does the International Village BIA. So
too does Councillor Sam Merulla, who chairs the city's licensing committee.

Even Chris Goodwin says the city could have shut him
down.

And it's hard to argue with them. Not just once but several times
over, the city had the opportunity to grind out Up in Smoke. But it
didn't.

The city could have refused to grant the cafe its licence in the
first place. When pothead activist Goodwin applied for a restaurant
licence before his grand opening in August 2004, it was clear what
activity would take place at the store. Goodwin laid it all out in
meetings with city staff, local business owners and even the police
vice and drugs unit. He proclaimed in media interviews that customers
would be smoking pot in the cafe. And on the licence application
itself, he described his business as "a cannabis cafe."

Well, that's illegal. Smoking pot anywhere -- unless you are one of
the few Canadians granted a medical marijuana licence -- is still
against the law in this country. So was the City of Hamilton clueless
about Up in Smoke? Did anyone even take a moment to consider the
name of the business? Or did it choose to ignore Goodwin's blatant
bragging that he would allow criminal activity in his place of business?

Goodwin got his restaurant licence. The food consisted of coffee and
hash brownies. He opened for business on Aug. 21, 2004 -- Canabian
Day.

"The business was clearly breaking the law," he tells me from jail.
"I knew that and wanted to take my case to the Supreme Court."

Ten days later, the first arrest was made.

Now, there's no way the city could have missed this. It was the top
news story of the day. Jean Cooper, a 70-year-old great-grandmother,
was arrested for pot possession. In November, she pleaded guilty and
was given an absolute discharge. Her case was the first judicial
confirmation that criminal activity was taking place at Up in Smoke.
Still, the cafe continued to operate.

The city could have hauled Goodwin in front of the licensing
committee, chaired by Merulla, to determine if Up in Smoke's licence
should be revoked or suspended. The committee had the ability to
close the place down. It should have been a no-brainer.

But it never happened. The cafe never went before the committee. And
Goodwin easily renewed his business licence last winter.

"It obviously was a hot potato and nobody wanted to slice it up and
have it for dinner," says Mary Pocius, executive director of the
International Village BIA.

Merulla is even more blunt.

"It should never have been allowed to open in the first place," he
says. "It was obvious there was criminal behaviour ... It made the
city look weak and like we were condoning it. There are gross
oversights within our licensing and enforcement department that are
beyond comprehension."

The city dropped the ball. Big time. It took a mess it had every
legal ability and moral responsibility to deal with and left it for
the police to clean up instead.

For two days I called the licensing department about Up in Smoke, but
nobody with answers called back.

Also unavailable for comment was Marvin Wasserman. He owns the Up in
Smoke property. He leased it to Goodwin for a year and then monthly
after that, despite mounting drug convictions related to the cafe and
pressure from the BIA and police to evict the tokers.

Meanwhile, as Up in Smoke operated under a city business licence for
two years, the police came under public fire for their perceived
inaction. The public wanted to know why cops were going into the cafe
every day -- sometimes three times a day -- and more often than not
walking out again without making arrests.

Cops were watching. Undercover officers were checking in on Up in
Smoke. Intelligence was gathered. Comings and goings were monitored
by downtown surveillance cameras. Slowly and steadily police were
building a case.

"The owner of Up in Smoke was here for the purpose of making a point
and selling marijuana," says Staff Sergeant Ken Weatherill. "We're
stepping on brand new ground here. Our approach would be one of
patience, consistency and perseverance ... At no time did we ever
say we would turn a blind eye to it."

Eventually, uniformed officers started making arrests for possession,
and undercover officers for trafficking. There were a total of 72
arrests.

All but one person dealt with in court has pleaded guilty, according
to federal drug prosecutor Jeffrey Levy. All were given fines,
conditional or unconditional discharges. One youth was diverted into
a drug program.

Levy praises the cautious approach taken by police. By taking time to
build a solid case, they reduced the risk of having charges thrown
out in court and setting a poor precedent.

So will Chris Goodwin reach his dream of taking his case all the way
to the Supreme Court?

Sounding tired and more lucid than usual, he told me from jail he
hasn't ruled out the idea of pleading guilty.

He talks of finishing his political science degree. Perhaps going to
law school. Maybe even running for city council in the upcoming election.

"There is something to be said for retreating and living to fight
another day."