HEAD-SHOP WORKERS FACE HARD TIME

Accused Pot Dealers Argue That They Provided A Community
Service

NELSON -- This may be the most pot-happy town in Canada, but three
local marijuana vendors are bracing for prison in a case their lawyer
compares to the controversy over Vancouver's infamous safe-injection
site.

Prosecutor Robert Brown argued in Provincial Court here Friday that
over-the-counter pot sales at the Holy Smoke Culture Shop were
motivated by greed and that the business at the downtown's edge was a
"magnetic" attraction to young people.

Brown told Judge Don Sperry that Alan Middlemiss, Paul DeFelice, and
Kelsey Stratas deserve nine to 12 months in prison, while Akka Annis
should receive a lesser sentence, as the only one never convicted
previously of selling marijuana.

"This unique situation offers a group of people who really don't come
before you with any remorse," Brown told Sperry. "The boldness of it,
it's almost a defiant stand." The accused admit they sold pot to
customers, including undercover police, but they argue the legal
defence of necessity: It was necessary to sell pot in a retail fashion
to eliminate street-level dealing in a small nearby park.

"The motive here was not profit," said defence lawyer Don Skogstad.
His clients sold pure marijuana for a good price, protecting customers
from the police-documented menace of pot laced with hard drugs such as
crystal meth, Skogstad said. Holy Smoke also sold marijuana to people
who needed the drug for medical conditions, he said.

Outside court, Skogstad said the Holy Smoke pot business provided harm
reduction similar to Insite, the controversial Vancouver facility
where heroin and cocaine addicts shoot up under medical supervision.
Skogstad said his clients should receive conditional discharges
requiring community service but producing no criminal record. Even a
street dealer selling pot laced with other drugs to children wouldn't
receive a nine-to-12-month sentence, Skogstad said.

Brown contended that "many, many" Nelson parents suffered "extreme
stress" worrying that Holy Smoke was a powerful attraction for their
kids.

The accused maintain that they checked IDs and never sold pot to
anyone under 19.

The defence relied heavily on testimony from University of Colorado
scientist Robert Melamede, who testified that pot contains anti-aging
compounds and can also treat heart disease, cancer and Alzheimer's.
Melamede propounded a "reverse gateway" theory -- that marijuana can
help people quit harder drugs.

Sperry said Friday he could give little weight to Melamede's
testimony, as the scientist was a marijuana advocate and prone to
mixing science with anecdote, fact with hypothesis.

The judge's address Friday was laced with criticism of the
accused.

"They chose to cast the moneylenders out of the temple by setting up a
cash-to-payday operation across the street," Sperry said.

Instead of selling pot to combat street dealing, the men could've
called police anonymously or made citizen's arrests, Sperry said.

The judge's comments were not received with optimism by the
accused.

"It's almost a guarantee that we're going to jail," Middlemiss said
outside court.

Holy Smoke is still in business as a head shop where people can smoke
their own pot, DeFelice said, adding that there are no pot sales in
the store "that I know of." Dustin Cantwell, who owns the shop with
Middlemiss and DeFelice but was not charged, said unscrupulous pot
dealers who also sell hard drugs are awaiting Holy Smoke's final fall.

"As soon as we're gone, you will see the wolves come out of the woods,
and I don't think Nelson will be better for it," Cantwell said.

Sperry gave Skogstad until Oct. 14 to bring evidence to court related
to community support for the accused, and their past community
service. Skogstad said outside court his clients plan to appeal if
sentenced to jail.