BUSINESS STILL BRISK AT B.C. POT STORE

Police Raid Has Little Effect on Craving for Marijuana

In a city that has earned the nickname Vansterdam because of its
liberal views on marijuana, a shop openly selling renowned B.C. bud is
hardly big news.

But the Da Kine Food and Beverage Shop has been grabbing headlines for
a couple weeks now as dozens of people file through its storefront on
the city's Commercial Dr. and plunk down $10 a gram for marijuana or
pick up some pot-laced baked goods.

Even after police raided the shop last week and arrested eight staff
members, including owner and marijuana advocate Carol Gwilt, and
charged them with trafficking and possession for the purpose of
trafficking, it's been business as usual.

Customers, who have to prove they are at least 19, have been flocking
to the shop in such great numbers since police confiscated Da Kine's
stash and about $70,000 in cash that buyers this week were being
restricted to a maximum of two grams for $20.

Customers have to show a Health Canada exemption allowing them to
possess and consume small quantities of marijuana for medical reasons.
Those who can't can simply register inside the shop and sign a form
saying the pot is being used to alleviate some kind of symptom,
condition or disease. An estimated 10,000 people have done so.

But on the sidewalks of Commercial Dr., an eclectic mix of
weather-beaten convenience stores, Italian cafes, hip restaurants and
the occasional yoga studio just east of downtown, few of Da Kine's
customers were talking about their medical conditions. The smell of
newly purchased grass wafts in the air as people argue the shop is
simply focusing attention on antiquated marijuana laws that
politicians still have not changed.

There have been allegations the city approved the shop's operating
licence even though officials knew it was going to be selling
marijuana, charges that Mayor Larry Campbell rejects as ridiculous.

Although he told a Vancouver newspaper this week he believes Ottawa
should legalize pot sales, tax them and put the proceeds into health
care, he notes Da Kine's activities still break the law. He accused
Gwilt of "poking a stick at the police."

Other so-called compassion clubs and pot cafes operate in Vancouver
but none as blatantly. It's clear that when Gwilt, who was also
charged with possessing proceeds of crime, went to the media a couple
of weeks ago to proudly proclaim that Da Kine had been openly selling
marijuana for four months, she provoked all levels of government.

In addition to Campbell's criticism, Prime Minister Paul Martin said
his government will soon introduce legislation decriminalizing small
amounts of marijuana. But the law would not make operations such as Da
Kine's legal.

Meanwhile, British Columbia Solicitor-General Rich Coleman condemned
the city's "ho-hum attitude" to the shop's operation just a day before
the raid. But he and police have denied that the raid was prompted by
his public criticisms.

Marijuana advocates like Gwilt vow to continue to defy the law until
they get it changed in their favour, arguing they are taking sales
from the back alleys into shops that can be monitored and taxed. Among
those who mill around Da Kine, where a sign in the front window
proclaims "Prohibition Supports Organized Crime," few need convincing.

"This is about a choice that people make, like consuming alcohol,"
says Jagua, 27, a student who declined to give his last name. "If you
make that choice and you act responsibly, then why shouldn't it be
treated like having a beer or a glass of wine?

"The whole thing is silly."

Jagua forgets what medical ailment he claimed on the form. His buddy,
Farzad, 26, a student who also declined to give his last name, says
with a smile that his purchase of $20 worth of marijuana from Da Kine
is part of the effort to combat the symptoms of his low attention span.

"I get twice as much studying done when I'm stoned."

But police say this is no laughing matter. There are reports that some
people who bought pot at the shop resold it to students at a high
school just a block from the store.

Although police raided the shop and continue to monitor its operations
closely, they say closing it down is a matter for the city. A council
meeting is set for next month into Da Kine's licence, which was issued
in May.

The police also dismiss suggestions that the Da Kine is a small-time
compassion club dispensing marijuana to those legally entitled to
possess it, and instead call it "a drug house and a very significant
operation." They note that when it was raided none of the more than
three dozen people inside had federal exemptions to be using pot.

Police, who say the shop averages $30,000 a day in sales, say they
hope the licence will be pulled by the city. Also, after confiscating
9.5 kilograms of marijuana and 450 grams of hashish in the raid, they
hope its supply will dwindle and it will go out of business.

But given the lines that stretched 20 people deep out front of Da Kine
this week, it appears that those hopes are destined to go up in smoke.