DA KINE OWNER SAYS CAFE WILL END POT SALES

The owner of the Vancouver cafe that has been openly selling pot for months
said on Friday the stakes in the ongoing game of cat-and-mouse with police
have become too high.

Carol Gwilt says the cafe on Vancouver's Commercial Drive will stop selling
marijuana.

"I'm directing my staff at the Da Kine Smoke Shop to stop selling
cannabis," Gwilt said in a statement read by lawyer Jason Gratl outside
Vancouver provincial court.

Gwilt was arrested on Thursday on a charge of breaching bail conditions.
She will remain in custody until a bail hearing on Monday. She has vowed to
continue the fight in the courts.

The cafe caught the attention of police after media reports of
over-the-counter sales of marijuana.

Police raided the shop on Sept. 9 and arrested Gwilt and seven employees on
charges of possessing marijuana for the purpose of trafficking.

During the raid, officers seized $63,000, another $1,700 US, nine kilograms
of marijuana, some hashish and 300 cookies baked with hash or marijuana,
officials said.

Police said during one 90-minute period of surveillance, they saw 230
customers using the shop.

They estimated the cafe was doing about $30,000 of business a day -- a
figure denied by the store's operators.

Gwilt was also charged with possessing proceeds from a crime.

After spending a night in jail, she and the others were released from
custody, pending a further appearance on Oct. 6, on the condition they stay
away from marijuana or any premises, automobile or person where marijuana
is present.

At the time, provincial court Judge William Kitchen remarked it was "silly"
for them to remain in custody and added that marijuana-related cases were
"not the most dangerous offences."

However, Kitchen warned they could go to jail if caught again.

Gwilt was back at Da Kine soon after her release and vowed that her
business would remain open and continue selling marijuana to people who use
it for medicinal purposes.