Pubdate: Wed, 12 Feb 2014
Source: Winnipeg Sun (CN MB)
Copyright: 2014 Canoe Limited Partnership
Contact:  http://www.winnipegsun.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/503
Author: Jim Bender
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?228 (Paraphernalia)

UP IN SMOKE

Head Shop Owners Say They Run Legitimate Business but City Isn't Helping

The Save the Head Shops group is afraid their legitimate businesses 
are about to go up in smoke.

With shops facing scrutiny and police pressure, Hemp Haven owner 
Jeremy Loewen called a press conference to address the problems.

"The Joint was raided and they took everything inside his store," 
Loewen said Tuesday. "Eight months went by, they went back and 
arrested two people in that store. Then, about a week and a half 
after that, I was arrested in my store. Then, it just started 
escalating and they started going to other stores, saying, 'Look, 
you've got to close your doors, and if you don't close your store, 
we're going to close it for you.'"

Loewen was charged with being in possession of goods obtained by 
crime and selling an instrument for illegal drug use. The item in 
question was purchased from a wholesaler while Loewen said he had no 
idea that selling the instrument was illegal. The head shops simply 
want a list of what is actually illegal.

"I'm extending a hand out there," Loewen said. "I'm willing to work 
with the city on this to come to a resolution. I feel like we could 
work under the same laws as the Tobacco Act. And we're already doing 
this. You've got to be 18 years old to come into the store."

Members of city council were invited to the presser, but none came. 
Some city councillors have already said they are not opposed to head shops.

"I don't want to interfere with their business unless there's a 
striking need for it," said Counc. Harvey Smith.

"We're proposing that maybe we can work out a trade association and 
that everybody operates under the same guidelines," suggested Loewen, 
who is urging other shop owners to join.

"A trade association would give a unified voice to a bunch of 
scattered voices," said Brian O'Dea, a TV/film producer, who flew in 
from Toronto to support the cause. "The most effective way to get 
their message out is to unify, come together, put some money 
together, pay somebody to help them say their message to the public."

Winnipeg's Steven Stairs, who uses medical marijuana because he has 
cancer, wonders where he would get the necessary medical devices to 
take it if head shops did close down.

"It makes me very sad that the disabled community are just being 
pushed aside again, and lumped into the criminal element of why they 
should justify closing these doors," he said. "That's really appalling."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom