Pubdate: Wed, 19 Feb 2014
Source: Winnipeg Free Press (CN MB)
Copyright: 2014 Winnipeg Free Press
Contact: http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/send_a_letter
Website: http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/502
Authors: Martin Cash and Aldo Santin
Page: B5

HEAD SHOPS NOT CLOSING YET

End of Police Crackdown Prompts Second Thoughts

It's early days, but it looks like the chill on Winnipeg head shops is lifting.

The news last week police charges against a head shop owner will not 
proceed has prompted at least two other store owners to reconsider 
their earlier decisions to close down their shops.

Last week, the Free Press reported charges against Jeremy Loewen, the 
owner of Hemp Haven, are likely not going to proceed.

Loewen was charged with selling an instrument for drug use and 
possession of property obtained by crime.

Other Winnipeg shops that sell tobacco, pipes and other smoking 
paraphernalia were visited by police and warned they had to find 
something else to sell.

After the police visits to their stores, Roman Panchyshyn, owner of 
Wild Planet on Osborne Street, and Matthew Frost, owner of City Haul 
on Corydon Avenue, said they would close down to avoid more serious 
legal issues, even though they had been operating without incident 
for more than 10 years.

Now both of them are rethinking that decision after receiving lots of 
support from their customers and the community at large.

Both had put the wheels in motion to wind their businesses down -- in 
Panchyshyn's case, putting his building up for sale and Frost 
informing his landlord he would not be renewing his lease.

Now they are in the process of reviewing their options to close.

"I still need to sit down with my lawyer, but my initial reaction is 
that if this has become moot..." then maybe he doesn't have to decamp 
to Vancouver as he was planning, said Wild Planet's Panchyshyn. "My 
lawyer (Neil Kravetsky) has suggested to me that it should be 
business as usual without the Crown proceeding with the charges 
(against Loewen)."

Wild Planet has just had one of its best years and Panchyshyn said he 
had plans to invest in the store and expand his offerings into record albums.

"Do they (the police) just walk away and say that was badly timed, 
badly executed?" Panchyshyn said. "Maybe they go away like they did 
for the last 20 years."

Kravetsky, who is advising both Panchyshyn and Frost, said based on 
what he has been told by the Crown prosecutors office, they should 
not expect any further trouble from the police.

"The caveat of course, is that they act within the four corners of 
the law," Kravetsky said.

Frost said he's now in a complicated situation with a month-to-month 
lease, but he doesn't want to close.

"And with the outpouring of support I've received, it's hard to turn 
my back on those that supported me," he said.

Meanwhile, in light of the controversial police crackdown on head 
shops, city hall will examine how it can control where these kinds of 
retailers are located.

On Tuesday morning, the property and development committee instructed 
administration to consider all regulatory methods, including zoning, 
to regulate where head shops operate.

The review was prompted after Winnipeg police charged Loewen at his 
Elmwood store.

Other operators of head shops -- legitimate retailers whose inventory 
includes materials used in the consumption of marijuana, including 
rolling papers and pipes of various designs -- including Panchyshyn 
and Frost said they'd been threatened by police to either remove the 
materials or face closure.

However, the effect of the police crackdown is being questioned after 
the Crown's office stayed the charges against the Elmwood operator on 
the grounds a conviction was unlikely.

The administration will also review how other municipalities deal 
with head shops.

Frost said he would welcome the imposition of a code of conduct for 
operators of such stores.

He said if there are those who do sell to minors they should expect 
to face the consequences but other stores that operate within the law 
should not have to face harassment.

"The quicker we get that figured out the better," he said.

Panchyshyn said even though his store might be close to a school, he 
doesn't believe he should be forced to move regardless of what sort 
of zoning determinations are made.

"The elementary school kids don't come in here," he said. "I can't 
see this becoming an issue."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom