POT SALES ON HOLD FOR LONDON'S HIPPY CAFE

The owner of London's first cafe for pot smokers is delaying plans to sell
marijuana for medicinal use. "The (London) police just left and they
advised me that if I sold pot at the compassion centre, I'd be charged with
trafficking," said Michael McDowell, owner of The Hippy Cafe on Oxford
Street East.

McDowell said yesterday police were polite, but insistent that he would be
criminally charged.

However, he said he'll explore other options, including an affiliation with
another legally operating compassion centre.

"I'm hoping another compassion centre will take us under their wing," he said.

"It's going to take a bit of time (to get approvals), but I'm not giving
up. I'm going to do it and I'm going to do it right to help these people."

The Hippy Cafe quietly opened late last month, providing a safe refuge for
pot smokers to light up, with a fenced patio.

However, McDowell also planned to open a compassion centre Monday to sell
marijuana to people who have been legally and medically cleared to smoke it
as part of their treatment to ease chronic pain and discomfort.

Sufferers of arthritis, glaucoma and AIDS use the substance to alleviate
pain and discomfort from drug treatments.

The Hippy Cafe is located at the rear of The Plant Doctor at 944 Oxford St. E.