Friday, January 30, 2004

What's the special of the day? TWO policemen flanked the doors of the Purple Haze cafe in Leith at 4pm, as Scotland's first ever cannabis cafe prepared to open its doors. The cafe had earlier been swamped with camera crews, photographers and reporters as owner Paul Stewart outlined his proposal for the cafe. As the doors opened, around 30 prospective punters, who had gathered outside in the freezing cold, began filing in.  The police handed each one a letter explaining that the possession of cannabis was still an offence. So began the first day in the UK of cannabis downgraded to Class C, as reported by the Edinburgh Evening News. Although the classification provides for a fair amount of decriminalization, marijuana is still illegal, and people can be arrested for possession. This is somewhat dependent on the philosophy of the local police. After a few hours a distinctive smell began to come from the cafe doors. After nearly three hours of business, police officers moved into the cafe and began charging customers, many of whom had been there since it opened. Insp Phillip later said three people had been charged and added their details would be passed on to the procurator fiscal.  He said he was satisfied the "appropriate" action had been taken. Among those caught was Mr Stewart, who will now face charges of allowing people to take drugs on his premises. He vowed to fight the charges, saying that human rights lawyers had already contacted him offering to represent him. "It was a good night, although with the glare of the media and all the police attention there were bound to be a few teething problems," he said afterwards. "We will be challenging these charges, as I feel they are totally illegal.  I was very happy with the way the Police handled the event, though, and there was no trouble when they charged people. It'll be interesting to see how things settle. That's what will matter. The greatest fear of the drug warrior is that marijuana will be used commonly and the sky won't fall. (Much like this summer in parts of Canada when it was temporarily legal to possess cannabis.) Then the slumbering masses of matrix population may just wake up and wonder why we've been spending so much of our resources incarcerating people for smoking pot. 10:29:51 PM |  drug policy | Links | permalink | comment []

This man wants your bong. Take a good look. Scary, intense, powerful U.S. Attorney for Nebraska appointed by George Bush. According to the Lincoln Journal Star, he calls his work "part of the United States' push for narcotics 'demand reduction.' When U.S. officials ask countries such as Mexico and Colombia to fight drug supplies, he said, officials there ask Americans to fight demand." Wednesday's announcement followed a months-long narcotics investigation of shops that sell water bongs, hookahs and other items used to smoke, conceal or consume illicit drugs under the premise of tobacco use. Yep, that's right. Mike Heavican, after months of investigation, discovered stores were selling pipes (something customers discovered by looking in the window). Eric Sterling, who oversees the Criminal Justice Policy Foundation, a Maryland-based national civil liberties organization said: "The goods are out there in the public eye, so it requires absolutely zilch investigation. "It's easy, cheap and headline-grabbing." Heavican disagreed: Many drug dealers, addicts and users would not seek "the carrot of treatment" without "the stick of prosecution." Huh? Thanks to TalkLeft for the tip, and now, if you don't mind, I'll finish this post with excerpts from an earlier post of mine from September: Chong Bong Gone Wrong I asked my friend George how this affected him: "Well, you know, I like to toke up a little on the weekends, particularly when I'm watching the Sci-fi channel. But now that you can't buy bongs, I guess I won't be able to anymore. It really sucks, 'cause I've got a whole ounce of BC Bud that I'm going to have to throw out. "But hey, I understand. They've gotta fight those terrorists, and I heard there's some kind of connection there. I guess the terrorists use the bongs for, uh, something." To help all those drug users who no longer can smoke their pot, I am going to break the law and offer special marijuana pipes online. DEA, and Mike Heavican, come and get me. These pot paraphernalia pipes are pictured at right. Now, some people say that these items can be used for bizarre purposes like eating, making pies, or target practice for expert archers. But I'm here to tell you that their purpose is for smoking pot. So, here is the link to purchase your own Apple Pipes. (Note: some assembly required, pen shaft and aluminum foil screen not included) 12:00:35 AM |  drug policy | Links | permalink | comment []