CITY'S DITHERING ON POT CAFE 'FORCED POLICE TO ACT'

The city was told about the controversial Da Kine pot cafe's intention
to openly sell marijuana at least eight months ago, according to East
Side community policing centre workers.

Chris Taulu, executive director of the Collingwood Community Policing
Centre, said Da Kine owner Carol Gwilt met with neighbourhood groups
late last year when residents got wind of the cafe's plan. Gwilt
apparently had first considered opening in Collingwood before settling
on the Commercial Drive site, according to Taulu.

"We told them if they got a proper licence to legally sell and if they
had an agreement with [Vancouver] Coastal Health, they could open [in
Collingwood]. Other than that, no," she said. "They said, 'Oh no.
We're opening up on Commercial Drive.' They were very open about it."

Taulu warned police, city officials and the Grandview-Woodlands
Community Policing Centre-all of whom were apprised of the cafe's
plans by late January, she said.

The Da Kine, which was raided by police last week, has operated
illegally but openly for months.

Taulu maintains the problem with the cafe is less about the
legalization of drugs and more about operating within licensing rules.

The argument is shared by Eileen Mosca, president of the Grandview
Woodland Community Policing Centre.

"Our issue is almost more with the city than with Da Kine," Mosca
said. "Da Kine is in violation of federal cannabis laws, and we feel
the first people who should be dealing with that are the people who
grant them a licence and let them do business. And that's the city."

Mosca said community members and business people in the area
complained to the policing office about the cafe, but she adds some
are afraid to speak out publicly for fear their businesses would be
vandalized.

"The impression definitely is everybody's good with it but there's
never an issue where everybody's on the same page," she said, adding,
"[Mayor] Larry Campbell has stated he thinks [marijuana] should be
made legal. That's a fine position, but rather than just turn a blind
eye to what's actually happening, city council should be advocates for
it and take that position forward to the federal government formally.
They would have a much bigger impact than cannabis activists or
average citizens."

Barb Windsor, deputy chief licensing inspector for the city, said
Gwilt's business application was flagged before it was approved and
two interviews were held.

Contrary to published statements by Gwilt, Windsor said, city staff
were told marijuana sales would not occur, noting the licence
application states the business would sell prepackaged food,
beverages, retail gifts and souvenirs.

"That's why the licence was issued," she said, pointing out staff
couldn't refuse it based on something that may or may not happen.

Despite the initial concern, inspectors were not sent to Da Kine to
check on it. "We issue 50,000 business licences in the city. We can
only do what we can do," Windsor said. "It never came to our attention
four months ago. The first time it came to our attention was in the
last few weeks with all the [press] coverage."

Mosca said city hall dropped the ball on Da Kine.

"Once it opened, it was in violation of its business licence. The
obvious way to deal with that was for the city to have pulled the
licence. The city chose not to do that and the police were forced to
deal with it because the city didn't deal with it," she said.

A business licence hearing has since been set for Oct. 6.