CANNABIS CAFE OPENING

Saint John could soon have a cannabis cafe, one of only a handful in Canada.

Jim and Lynn Wood plan to open Hemp NB's Cannabis Cafe at 86 King St.,
above Shorney's Optical, on April 1.

They won't be selling marijuana, but they're going to let customers 19 and
older smoke pot on-site.

Cigarette smoking, how-ever, will be not allowed because it's "toxic" and
"gross" and "should be illegal." They will also close relatively early each
day, about 6 or 7 p.m., to avoid attracting drunk people, who can be "loud
and violent."

Hemp NB's Cannabis Cafe will include a hemp products sales room and two
smoking rooms, which will overlook King Street.

The cafe will have a "laid back and groovy" atmosphere, said Mr. Wood, with
tables and chairs, couches, plants, music and possibly some local artwork.
It will offer coffee, soft drinks, juice and water, "munchies," such as
chips, and maybe even sandwiches and subs.

"It's going to be a respectable joint," said Mr. Wood, a vocal advocate for
the legalization of marijuana and former Marijuana Party candidate.

"People don't have to go sit in alleyways and hide behind buildings to get
high anymore," he said. "They have a place they can come and feel safe and
enjoy a coffee while they're at it."

But Sgt. Kim Phillips, of the Saint John Police Force's street crime unit,
disagrees.

Anyone who does use marijuana at the cafe could be charged with possession,
he said.

Police will be investigating.

"We'll be dropping in to see what's happening," said Sgt. Phillips. "If
it's open to the public, that's us."

He could not say whether the Woods could be subject to charges without
researching the matter. He did say he's concerned.

"It's very shocking they're openly condoning and supporting people breaking
the law as it stands today," he said. "It's just flaunting of the law, in
my opinion.

"I don't think we as a police force are going to condone that, nor do I
think the citizens of Saint John are going to be very happy. It flies in
the face of all reasonableness."

But the Woods, who recently moved the hydroponic part of their Hemp NB
business to 227 Bayside Dr. and will now be selling their hemp products at
the cafe, say they have consulted a lawyer. They contend their plans are
legal because they won't be selling marijuana or allowing any drug dealing.

"We're not breaking any laws. We're just not telling people they can't
smoke," said Mr. Wood. And the city doesn't have any non-smoking bylaws, he
said.

Anyone who is caught dealing at the cafe, or is even suspected of dealing,
will be banned for life, said Mrs. Wood. Warning signs will be posted.

"We don't want anybody breaking any laws," she said.

The Woods have also consulted the owners of two cannabis cafes in Vancouver
to "find out how they run things there and what to expect," she added.

Ron MacNeil, manager of the Blunt Bros. cafe on West Hastings Street in
Vancouver, said they have never had any problems with the police since they
opened the cafe more than four years ago. But it's "kind of a grey area,"
he said.

"I would say, chances are, it's probably illegal . . . More or less I think
it's just the tolerance level in our city."

The Blunt Bros. sees about 500 customers every day, with as many as 50
seated at any given time, said Mr. MacNeil. The majority of them - about 80
per cent - are American tourists, he said.

"They come from all over to see what it's all about. It's a lot cheaper
than flying to Amsterdam for the same experience." (Cannabis cafes in
Amsterdam are different, however, because they also sell marijuana.)

Const. Sarah Bloor of the Vancouver Police Department said police are aware
of the Blunt Bros. cafe and the New Amsterdam cafe, also located on West
Hastings Street.

"We continue to monitor these establishments that have been licensed
through the city as businesses," she said.

Customers using on-site could face possession charges, said Const. Bloor.
But she too was unclear about whether the owners could be charged for
allowing people to smoke pot on site. "It's something we continue to
evaluate and assess under the Criminal Code of Canada."

Police have shut down two other cannabis cafes in recent years after
investigations revealed they were selling marijuana, said Const. Bloor. The
owners were charged with possession for the purpose of trafficking.

Mr. Wood was charged about two years ago with growing marijuana, possessing
marijuana for the purpose of trafficking and possession of marijuana. The
charges were later dropped, with the Crown prosecutor saying the admissible
evidence was insufficient.

RCMP officers had discovered 780 plants in an apartment at a Barnesville
house. The plants were about two or three weeks away from being ready to
harvest. Police also found about $10,000 worth of equipment used in the
grow operation.

In 2000, Mr. Wood received a six-month conditional sentence for growing and
possessing marijuana after the RCMP found 57 marijuana plants on his farm
near MacDonalds Point.

He said he needed the drug for relief from chronic back pain caused by
crushing two vertebrae in a car accident years earlier.

Mr. Wood applied to Health Canada for a licence to possess and produce a
limited number of plants for his back pain, but was denied.