PORN SHOP OWNER CHARGED

A man busted for openly selling marijuana from a Maple Ridge adult
entertainment store says the arrest has prompted him to run for
political office.

"You guys are going to see me run for f - - king mayor in this town,"
said William Perry, owner of Guilty Pleasures on 207 Street. He vowed
to fight the charges and campaign for the legalization of marijuana in
Canada.

Perry's store was raided by the Ridge Meadows RCMP July 6 at about 6
p.m.

Armed with a search warrant, the officers arrested Perry and seized
about $6,000 in cash, marijuana, scales, growing nutrients, pot pipes,
videos on how to grow marijuana, videos, magazines and books.

Police also noted in the press release that seven bulldogs were found
on the property, however they failed to mention that the dogs were a
mother and six puppies. There are also a bird and a cat in the store.

The raid was the finale to a three-month investigation, which included
undercover officers buying pot.

Perry, 28, now faces five counts of trafficking a controlled substance
and one count of possession for the purpose of trafficking.

Inside the store, a glass case where the pot and smoking paraphernalia
was displayed is now empty.

Perry complains that the police seized not only pot, but also legal
items such as growing nutrients, which can be purchased at garden
supply stores.

They also took posters and anything connected with pot. The only item
left in the store with a marijuana leaf is a black and green bikini
displayed in the front window.

Perry said the marijuana was never a large portion of his business, an
adult entertainment store that sells videos, magazines, sex toys,
shoes, boots and lingerie. He said his marijuana was 100-per-cent
organic and perfectly safe. Pot has made him a calmer, happier person,
he said.

"I'm going to fight the charges, I don't believe I've done anything
wrong," Perry said. "If anything, I may turn around and sue the
government."

He said he has never been involved with selling harder drugs, and has
never been arrested for selling any drugs before.

When asked how long he has been selling marijuana from the store,
Perry replied: "I've been helping people for a long time."

"I'm in it for the cause," he said. The pornography and toys in his
store were also once illegal, he said. He says it will be some time
before he decides if he wants to sell pot from the store again.

Charlotte Thom, who owns the coin laundry next door to Guilty
Pleasures, was shocked to hear on Thursday that Perry had been
arrested. She had never had a problem with him or his store, she said,
and didn't know there were drugs on sale there.

"Will's a real stand up guy," Thom said. He has called the police
numerous times to report vandalism and theft in the area, and broke up
a fight in April.

Perry has never been involved in politics, but he knows Marijuana
Party leader and pro-pot activist Marc Emery, and also knows some of
the people who were running the Da Kine Cafe in Vancouver. That
business was also shut down by the police after spending several
months openly selling pot.

He is considering hiring one of the lawyers who represented Da Kine
for his own legal battle. His court appearance will be sometime in
September.