CAFE BUSTED FOR SELLING POT

Staff Charged With Trafficking, Patrons With Possession

The owners of the Kindred Cafe said yesterday they intend to fight
police allegations they were selling pot-laced milkshakes, hot
chocolate and baked goods.

The Breadalbane St. coffee shop was closed yesterday as workers
cleaned up after a police raid late Thursday. They said expensive
furniture, plasma TVs, tables and chairs were carted away.

Two club employees were charged with trafficking and five patrons for
possession of marijuana, police said. The accused are scheduled for
court appearances next week.

Const. Tony Vella alleged undercover officers purchased
marijuana-laced milkshakes, hot chocolates and baked goods inside the
club.

"Officers observed patrons consuming marijuana in a back room," Vella
added. "This investigation stemmed from complaints from the community."

He said several thousand dollars were also seized under proceeds of
crime laws.

"These types of businesses are illegal," Vella said. "It is an
infraction of the Criminal Code to possess or sell marijuana ..."

Cafe spokesman Chad Cooke, 38, said the popular club sells organic
fair-trade coffee.

He said patrons can bring joints and light up in a tent on the roof.
He said many, like him, suffer from ailments and have permits to use
marijuana for medical reasons.

"A lot of our customers are medical users," he said. "The atmosphere
in here is controlled and safe."

Cooke said customers can use marijuana at his club, but they can't buy
it. "We don't sell marijuana," he said. "Other people can bring and
use it in here."

"We have been here for three years and there has never been a
problem."