NZ WOMAN CHALLENGES CANADIAN POT LAW

A New Zealand woman living in Canada is set to challenge Canadian drug laws
after being arrested for selling marijuana in her cafe.

Former Marlborough woman Nikki McGinn said she was the first person in
Canada to sell marijuana through a retail outlet.

Her cafe, The Melting Pot, in the British Columbian town of Winlaw, was
raided by police last Friday and McGinn arrested and charged with
possession for the purpose of trafficking. As part of her release
conditions the cafe has been closed.

The 33-year-old is challenging the law, claiming the legal system does not
represent the people. She believed people should be ruled by common law,
rather than laws which treat individuals as corporate bodies.

Under common law people can do what they want unless it hurts or interferes
with others.

"It's a commercial justice system. They treat everyone as a corporation to
be able to use their statute code and legislate, which is not law ...

"It's not valid [the legal system] for anyone unless you volunteer to
remain in it," she said.

McGinn said six armed officers raided her shop and seized her digital video
recorder, on which she was filming the raid.

She appeared in court on Monday, where she also faced an earlier, similar
charge. McGinn said the issue was not about marijuana, which she admitted
using, but about rights.

Her next court appearance is on July 23.