Pubdate: Sun, 13 Apr 2003 Source: Daily News, The (CN NS) Copyright: 2003 The Daily News Contact: http://www.canada.com/halifax/dailynews/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/179 Author: Skana Gee DON'T LOOK FOR POT CAFES ANY TIME SOON IN HALIFAX Haligonians won't be relaxing with a joint and a coffee anytime soon -- not outside their apartments, anyway -- despite the early success of the Cannabis Cafe in downtown Saint John, N.B. The pot-friendly retreat opened April 1 and has been operating hassle-free due to recent court decisions that make the risk of criminal charges for simple possession of marijuana nearly non-existent. Business at the modest cafe, housed adjacent to Hemp New Brunswick's retail shop, has been relatively brisk, with dozens stopping by each day to light up a joint, says co-owner Jim Wood. "We'd like to see one in every large and small community in Canada, just like Tim Hortons," he told The Daily News last week. Nonetheless, two metro smoke shops say they have no intention of following suit. Mary Jane's Smokeshop on Grafton Street won't start serving drinks or food. And while Colleen Banks, co-owner of Sweetleaf Smoke Shop on Isleville Street, considered opening a cafe -- featuring hemp tea and other beverages, not dope smoking -- she's decided to stick to selling pipes, bongs and other paraphernalia. "I don't have the space, for starters," she says. "And as soon as you open a place like that, you get judged as selling drugs. It's not fair, but that's what happens." Wood and his wife, Lynn, opened the Cannabis Cafe on busy King Street, in a building owned by a Halifax woman. They don't sell marijuana, but they provide a public place -- the cafe actually looks like a cozy den, with a couple of sofas, lots of plants and a chess board -- to smoke it. Patrons must be 19 and must purchase a non-alcoholic beverage to enter. It's the latest volley in the couple's bid to have marijuana decriminalized. Wood, 34, was arrested in August 1998 when police found 57 pot plants growing on his rural property, marijuana he says he needs to fight the chronic pain of crushed vertebrae from an automobile crash. He served a year of house arrest -- basically living in the hemp store (they' ve since moved their hydroponics business to a separate location) 24 hours a day. Many days, the couple's three-year-old daughter and toddler son play around their feet. But, the idea of a pot cafe sounded "outrageous" at first, admits Wood -- until a couple of court cases gave him confident that he could open the only one, as far as he knows, east of Vancouver. On March 31, Judge Flora Buchan stayed proceedings against Paula Clarke of Minesville, making Nova Scotia the third province -- behind Ontario and Prince Edward Island -- where marijuana users are unlikely to be convicted for possession of less than 30 grams. While not binding, it's expected to influence law enforcement officials across the country. - --- MAP posted-by: Beth