HOLY SMOKE OWNERS ENTER NOT GUILTY PLEAS

The three owners of the Holy Smoke Culture Shop entered pleas of not guilty
to various drug charges on Tuesday morning.

Dustin Cantwell, Paul DeFelice and Alan Middlemiss were arrested at their
Herridge Lane shop on October 15 and later charged with possession of
marijuana and psilocybin, commonly known as "magic mushrooms," as well as
possession of both drugs for the purpose of trafficking.

They plan to argue that the search of their shop was illegal, they and
their lawyers said.

"We believe the police did some investigation without a search warrant that
required one," said Don Skogstad, who is representing DeFelice and
Middlemis. Cantwell will be represented by Slocan Valley lawyer Kenyon McGee.

The Nelson City Police entered Holy Smoke without a search warrant and
returned with one after they saw what they believed to be marijuana.
Skogstad plans to argue the first entry was an illegal search because the
police entered parts of the store not open to the general public.

A police search without a warrant doesn't result in the automatic exclusion
of evidence in Canada, but if the search could "bring the law into
disrepute" the evidence is dismissed, Skogstad said.

Over half of the narcotics cases Skogstad takes are defended on the basis
of an illegal search and seizure he stated.

"I think there's a problem with the quality of police investigations," he
said.

The three shop owners considered fighting the charges by arguing that they
are not constitutional and infringe their rights to paractice their
religion. Holy Smoke was recently given church status by the Ontario-based
Church of the Universe, which is known for its pot-smoking followers.

"We'd love to make all the big arguments if we had the money," said
DeFelice, who believes that laws against marijuana are as unconstitutional
as the old laws against abortion that were overturned by the Supreme Court
of Canada.

"I still want to make a religious argument," he added. "I'd be willing to
argue that all God's creation is for all of us to use."

The problem is that in order to make that argument, the three would have to
admit to using marijuana according to DeFelice.

"If I can't worship the way I want, I'm wary about how public I can make
those arguments," he stated.

The argument that the search and seizure was illegal, which will be made
under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, can also be part of the battle to
legalize pot, DeFelice added.

"We're just playing non-cooperative - make them prove everything," he said.
"The laws are unconstitutional, the search warrant is invalid."

"They have to act unconstitutionally to get a conviction."