Written by CBC News Online staff

Quebec police move in on 'pot cafe'

Last Updated Sat, 29 Nov 2003 20:25:23
MONTREAL - Two men were arrested Saturday at a new cafe where people are
encouraged to bring and smoke their own marijuana.

Dozens of customers were drinking coffee and passing around pot when police
officers arrived, witnesses said. Authorities confirmed that the joint,
called Chez Marijane, had been under surveillance since the doors opened.
But they refused to say why only two people were arrested or whether
officers would be back on Sunday.

Some young children were also in the room, which was thick with smoke,
according to investigators. The cafe is less than a block from a police
station. Before the arrests, the owners of Chez Marijane made it clear that
they would let patrons smoke, but not sell, pot on the premises.

The space is intended to double as the political offices of the Bloc Pot,
which is lobbying to make marijuana legal. Earlier, city councillor Nicolas
Tetrault warned the activists that police would intervene if people were
caught smoking pot at the new cafe.

The head of the Marijuana Party of Canada, Boris St. Maurice, said he
thinks it will be hard for police to stop everyone from smoking cannabis at
the cafe. Judges in several provinces have ruled that it's unconstitutional
to prosecute people for having small amounts of marijuana. Similar pot
cafes have opened in a few other places in Canada, and charges have been
laid in some cases.

The federal government introduced legislation to decriminalize possession
of less than 15 grams of marijuana. The bill, which did not pass before
Parliament shut down earlier this month, is expected to be reintroduced
next year.


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