Pubdate: Mon, 26 Nov 2001
Source: Scotsman (UK)
Copyright: The Scotsman Publications Ltd 2001
Contact:  http://www.scotsman.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/406
Author: Graham Diggines
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm (Decrim/Legalization)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis)

CITY SET FOR DRUG CAFE

PLANS have been unveiled to open a cafe in the Capital where cannabis can 
be bought and smoked.

Edinburgh-based publisher Kevin Williamson, who helped launch the career of 
controversial novelist Irvine Welsh, plans to take advantage of the 
Government's softening stance on cannabis to open the cafe as early as the 
spring.

But today the plan received a cold reception from anti-drugs campaigners 
who claimed it would simply attract drug users to the city.

The Amsterdam-style coffee shop will be named after Mr Willamson's 
publishing company, Rebel Inc.

However, the 39-year-old from Meadowbank today refused to reveal either the 
proposed location or the "consortium" of people backing the move.

Mr Williamson said the cafe would provide a haven for the city's cannabis 
users where they would be free to buy and consume the drug without being 
exposed to gangland dealers who also peddle "hard" drugs such as heroin.

He said: "At the moment cannabis is sold in our estates and stairwells and 
often the product sold is what is known as soap bar, cannabis adulterated 
with poisonous substances such as bitumen. People need to ask themselves if 
cannabis should be sold in this way by gangsters on our housing estates who 
also deal in heroin."

Mr Williamson said he hoped the police would tolerate the proposed coffee 
shop in the same way they have tolerated the city's prostitution industry.

He said: "Prostitution has been tolerated in saunas and in certain streets 
where it can be controlled and made safer. Harm reduction makes a lot of 
sense, it's safer for women. There are far less murders of women in 
Edinburgh because police have taken a very pragmatic line."

He added: "I am not a drug dealer and setting up a cafe is a step I am 
loathe to take but it is something I feel strongly about.

"And I think many people would agree that it should be licensed and 
controlled."

The proposed cafe would open following new legislation by Home Secretary 
David Blunkett, expected in the spring.

The laws are expected to usher in a softer stance on cannabis possession 
and follow experimental tolerance zones in the London boroughs of Brixton 
and Lambeth where police have cautioned people found with small amounts of 
the drug rather than arrest them.

Mr Williamson said: "The time is right to change the law because it has 
been disregarded by so many people who now smoke cannabis.

"The cafe is not something that will be sprung on anyone. The police and 
authorities will be consulted before anything happens but there is a danger 
I could go to jail over this. There will be some people against it but 
before the cafe opens there will have to be a debate about the issue.

"The people who will be welcome to the cafe will be over 18 and be able to 
prove it. There won't be any hard drugs or alcohol allowed on the premises.

"And it won't be like some drunken Lothian Road pub where everyone spills 
out on to the streets at closing time.

"I'm not going on record to say I am a smoker of cannabis just as I'm not 
going to say I drink alcohol or smoke cigarettes."

But Alistair Ramsay of Scotland Against Drugs said he feared that the 
setting up of such a cafe would lead to an influx of users to Scotland, 
rather than just cater for local demand. He said: "In Holland, the Dutch 
people are very concerned that the majority of people using cannabis cafes 
are not Dutch.

"If we introduce cannabis cafes in Scotland we would become a magnet for 
people to come here to smoke cannabis."

Mr Williamson has said he wishes to open talks with Lothian and Borders 
Police on the matter. But a force spokesman said they were unwilling to 
comment at this time.

Earlier this month plans to open a similar cafe in Dundee were announced.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Jackl