Pubdate: Thu, 01 Nov 2001 Source: National Post (Canada) Copyright: 2001 Southam Inc. Contact: http://www.nationalpost.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/286 Author: Brian Howell, National Post VANCOUVER TEAHOUSE TO SPECIALIZE IN MARIJUANA Chronically Ill Patrons Licensed By Health Canada To Use Pot: Police To Monitor VANCOUVER - The operators of a new teahouse where the sick can use marijuana to ease the pain of chronic illnesses are promising to seek court protection if anyone tries to shut them down. "We are willing to defend our Charter rights if forced to do so," Yoram Adler, a director of the Marijuana Teahouse, said yesterday during an opening ceremony. The threat was made as the Marijuana Teahouse faced immediate hurdles, which include the absence of a permanent business licence. "They have no approval for anything after 1 a.m. today," said Paul Teichroeb, Vancouver's chief licensing inspector, suggesting he provided a one-day licence in the rush so the teahouse's planned opening ceremony could go ahead. But the founders of the teahouse, located in the gritty Downtown Eastside neighbourhood that has been ravaged by the effects of crack, sketched out big goals yesterday. They see the establishment -- which they describe as a Canadian first -- as a quiet haven in which people grappling with such illnesses as AIDS and multiple sclerosis can try marijuana in a supportive atmosphere. The austere cafe, located in the former restaurant of an Eastside hotel, consists of two rooms. The first resembles a mix of a bar and a coffee house. In a rear room, visitors will be able to self-medicate with marijuana they are licensed to use under Health Canada rules that allow approved people to use marijuana to ease their suffering. A spokesman for the Vancouver Police Department said it will monitor the situation, but plans no action as long as the teahouse sticks to municipal laws and Health Canada regulations. Organizers expect most people who take pot will do so by working the drug into tea or butter. Only a minority will actually light up. "We're not ... going to be walking around with Jamaican-sized joints to impress the public about our smoking abilities," said Michael Maniotis, another director. "That's not the purpose here. Eighty per cent of what's going on here as far as medicating will be through ingestion, which means eating it." One prospective customer yesterday said he was looking forward to using the teahouse as a peaceful place to learn new ways, besides cigarettes, to take his pot. "Mark," a 37-year-old man diagnosed with HIV, said he had learned marijuana quells the side effects of drugs he must take but which kill his appetite. "The benefit of something like this is exposure to people who have knowledge of using marijuana in spaghetti sauce and other things," he said, declining to give his last name. "Smoking is not the best way. It's detrimental to your lungs." - --- MAP posted-by: Lou King