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Woman, 70, Arrested at Pot Cafe
Pubdate: Tue, 31 Aug 2004
Source: Hamilton Spectator (CN ON)
Copyright: The Hamilton Spectator 2004
Contact: http://www.hamiltonspectator.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/181
Author: Natalie Alcoba
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmjcn.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal - Canada)
WOMAN, 70, ARRESTED AT POT CAFE
Up in Smoke Patron Went Quietly.
Chances are she's not the first person you'd expect to get bustged at
the new marijuana cafe.
But yesterday afternoon, in mid-joint, a 70-year-old woman became the
first person arrested for pot possession inside the Up In Smoke Cafe,
on King Street East.
The woman was smoking at a table when three uniformed police officers
entered the establishment, according to witnesses.
They asked her to butt out, said Farid Kayhan, 24, a volunteer at the
cafe, who saw the arrest.
She was arrested, although not handcuffed, and released at the scene,
said acting Staff Sergeant Ron Hayward.
"It was a very simple possession arrest," said Hayward.
The amount was less than 30 grams.
Up In Smoke Cafe opened nearly two weeks ago, touted as a relaxed
atmosphere where people can enjoy a coffee and a smoke.
Police have said they will watch over the cafe, and lay any charges if
they see a crime being committed.
Kayhan said the woman has been in the cafe before.
"She became a member on the first day, and this is the fist time she
had come down to sit down and relax and smoke her medicine," said
Kayhan, who believed the woman was in the process of obtaining the
necessary approval to use marijuana for medicinal purposes.
He said the officers had walked into the cafe earlier in the day, when
no one was smoking inside.
Kayhan said the woman seemed distraught by the whole
experience.
She started complaining that she wasn't feeling well and was taken to
the Hamilton General Hospital, where she refused treatment and was
released.
Hayward said uniform officers enter many premises in the downtown
core, and the pot cafe was not targeted.
"If (police) see and offence they'll act on it," said Hayward.
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