Pubdate: Thu, 06 Mar 2014
Source: Winnipeg Sun (CN MB)
Copyright: 2014 Canoe Limited Partnership
Contact: http://www.winnipegsun.com/letter-to-editor
Website: http://www.winnipegsun.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/503
Author: Joyanne Pursaga
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?228 (Paraphernalia)

USING HIS HEAD

Smoke Shop Owner Takes Steps to Weed Out Minors, Appease Residents

A Winnipeg head shop has vowed to keep minors out of its stores in a 
deal that will likely prevent future police raids.

The Winnipeg Police Service raided The Joint on St. Mary's Road and 
Hemp Haven during a January crackdown, since some of the stores' 
products can be used to consume marijuana. WPS says the action 
followed complaints from 10 nearby schools.

But during a Monday meeting of police, The Joint, school officials 
and a city councillor, the store committed to take several measures 
to ensure those concerns are addressed.

Coun. Brian Mayes (St. Vital) confirmed The Joint will allow only 
customers 18 and older to enter the store and request identification 
from all young shoppers. Windows have been darkened to block public 
view of the products sold and messages referring to 4/20, the annual 
date local pot enthusiasts gather to smoke up at the Manitoba 
Legislature, have been removed.

Mayes said the changes have virtually eliminated daily complaints to 
his office about head shops.

"The number of complaints I've got has plummeted," he said.

Illegal marijuana use is just one of the potential uses for water 
pipes and other products, since the devices can also be used with 
medicinal marijuana and tobacco, which complicates the legality of 
such businesses. The future status of recreational marijuana has also 
been questioned due to recent demands that it be legalized.

"We realized we wouldn't solve the national legalization debate but 
we could address complaints from nearby schools," Mayes said.

Representatives of The Joint declined comment Wednesday.

Bill Fogg, a WPS superintendent, said if the store manages to operate 
within the new parameters, police don't expect to lay additional 
charges or seize its products in the future.

"We asked them to develop a strategy to mitigate the community 
concern and they did a tremendous job with it," Fogg said.

Fogg said police are willing to meet with other head shops to work on 
similar agreements.

"The end goal was never to charge our way to a solution," he said.

Jeremy Loewen, the owner of Hemp Haven, said he's willing to keep 
minors out of his store and already denies purchases to them.

"I want no part in selling to minors because that's a grey area, even 
if it is legal," he said.

But Loewen, who was charged with possessing goods obtained by crime 
and selling an instrument for illegal drug use back in January after 
selling a water pipe, is still concerned with his business's future 
while no formal agreement is in place.

"I'd still like to see something concrete," he said.

His arrest led him to close his business for eight days. The charges 
were later stayed but the closure and legal fees cost him at least 
$20,000, he said.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom