Pubdate: Fri, 13 Dec 2013
Source: Manchester Evening News (UK)
Copyright: 2013 Manchester Evening News
Contact:  http://www.manchesteronline.co.uk
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1313
Author: John Scheerhout
Bookmark: http://mapinc.org/people/Colin+Davies

DRUGS CAMPAIGNER TO OPEN 'CANNABIS CAFE' IN MANCHESTER

Colin Davies - once jailed for drug trafficking and famous for 
handing over a bouquet of flowers containing cannabis to the Queen - 
is heading for another collision with the authorities after 
announcing his intention to open The New Way Cafe on Tariff Street in January.

He said cannabis wouldn't be traded on the property although members 
would be invited to bring their own drugs for personal consumption.

Possession and supply of cannabis remains against the law despite 
long-standing campaigns to legalise the drug.

It was reclassified as a Class B drug in 2009 after it had been 
downgraded for the previous five years to Class C. Possession of it 
carries a maximum sentence of five years in jail.

Mr Davies, 56, said: "There will be tea and coffee and smokers will 
be welcome. "We're just providing a meeting point for people."

A landlord has agreed to lease him a former bar on Tariff Street 
which features three rooms and a kitchen, he said.

"We just want to make it safe for everybody. This is straight above 
the line. There will be no sales of cannabis until the government 
says it is legal to do so. Manchester is full of it anyway down 
Oldham Street and Piccadilly Gardens. It's everywhere. There will be 
no alcohol. People can come, have a coffee, play chess, chat and smoke."

Members will be charged UKP35 to join the club.

Mr Davies was jailed for three years in 2002 after a jury found him 
guilty of importing and supplying drugs.

He had opened Dutch Experience in Stockport, the UK's first ever 
cannabis cafe, amid a blaze of publicity in September, 2001. Police 
raided it within ten minutes of its launch.

In court prosecutors said the cafe was in fact an elaborate 
smokescreen for the trafficking of drugs from Holland.

The father-of-two first came to the attention of the police in 1998 
when he was charged with unlawful possession of drugs but he was 
acquitted after claiming he grew marijuana in his flat in Stockport 
to relieve back pain.

The former joiner fractured three bones in his spine following a fall in 1995.

He went on to become a central figure in a national campaign to 
legalise dope and set up the Medical Marijuana Co-operative which 
involved the sale of cannabis to members on a not-for-profit basis.

He faced more drugs charges in 1999 but was cleared after claiming 
his action didn't amount to unlawful drug dealing.

He hit the headlines again in 2000 when he gave the Queen a bouquet 
of flowers which was actually cannabis. He escaped any legal action.

After he was jailed in 2002, Euro MP Chris Davies slammed UK drugs 
laws and heralded his namesake as a martyr.

"The world has changed a little bit since then. I think the time is 
right now," said Mr Davies, who described the current law on cannabis 
as 'ridiculous'.

Chief Inspector Gareth Parkin from North Manchester Division said: 
"We are aware of the proposed use of the premise and if we identify 
any offences, we will take the appropriate action."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom