DA KINE DOORS SHUT FOR NOW

Felger May Lose Business Licence After Drug Charge

Local political junkie, businessman and pot advocate Tim Felger may
lose his business licence to operate the head shop Da Kine after
being charged with possession of marijuana and six counts of
trafficking in a controlled substance.

Felger was arrested May 13 in a police sting operation at his Da Kine
store on Essendene Avenue after he sold small amounts of pot to an
undercover officer on several occasions.

Felger was in custody when the large windows that front his shop were
smashed in by vandals, but Felger remains unfazed by it all, saying
if he loses his licence for Da Kine he'll open up a sign shop
instead. "I'll spend my days making signs and putting them up on
public property," he said, laughing.

Pot advocate Tim Felger stands outside his store, Da Kine, in
downtown Abbotsford. The store is closed and the business owner is in
danger of losing his business licence after a recent drug charge.

Discussing what transpired, Felger said, "Well, they arrested me for
selling pot and I thought we had an understanding with the police
department and with the mayor that we were going to make marijuana
the lowest priority [for arrests], and we made a police board
presentation, and they did not tell me 'no, don't start selling pot.'"

Felger said that local law enforcement was aware that he and some of
his associates have a functional medical-marijuana distribution
facility up and running, and that they would be selling pot to
individuals as young as 16 years old, as long as the youths had
parental consent.

"These kids that are 16 right now, will be eligible to vote in 2011
for the civic election, " said Felger, who accused the Abbotsford
Downtown Business Association of filing all the complaints and
threatened to subpoena some of its members.

Abbotsford Police spokesman Ian MacDonald said the sting operation
came about after a number of complaints were received by police from
the public about pot being sold to youth and students from the Da Kine shop.

"This wasn't a police initiated response at all in the beginning . .
. but our drug squad initiated a project, and as a result of the
project we confirmed the allegations from the community."

According to Felger, even if he cannot run a store, he will still
maintain a political office at the Da Kine location. "They can't stop
me," said Felger.

He is scheduled to appear in court again on Monday, and is
representing himself, but was vague about where the proceedings would
continue from there, adding that if he did get jail time for the
charges, "So what? I don't care. It isn't going to stop me.

"Every arrest is a badge of courage, and every [jail] sentence is a
medal of honour."