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Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
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UK: Cannabis cafe hit by eviction threat Jane Hamilton, Crime Reporter Edinburgh Evening News Saturday 31 Jan 2004 SCOTLAND'S first cannabis cafe faces being closed down after its landlord threatened to take legal action to stop the city venue being used for drug taking. The businessman who owns the Purple Haze cafe in Leith has told cafe operator Paul Stewart he will be evicted unless he stops his controversial project. William Frame, managing director of city-based Braemore Property Management, has consulted his solicitor about the new use of the former greasy spoon in Portland Street. The cannabis cafe opened on Thursday afternoon as a private members' club for anyone who wishes to come off the streets and use the drug. Mr Stewart said the cafe would be "tobacco free" but anyone wishing to take cannabis after 4pm would be able to use a vaporiser machine, which eliminates 99 per cent of the carcinogenic substances of the drug. Police moved in on Thursday night and arrested three people, including Mr Stewart, for drug offences. The move to open the cafe came on the day the drug was officially reclassified from Class B to Class C by the Government. Today, a spokeswoman for Mr Frame said: "William Frame has owned the property at Portland Place, Leith, for 12 years. "The property operated as a cafe for 12 years, until the current tenant, Paul Stewart, took over the lease two years ago. "Cannabis is illegal and Mr Frame does not condone the use of the drug or the actions that have been taken by his tenant. "Mr Frame has advised Paul Stewart that he is in breach of his lease and if he continues to do so, Mr Frame will take legal action. "Mr Frame is co-operating fully with Lothian and Borders Police and a copy of the letter issued to Paul Stewart by his solicitors has been forwarded to them." Pro-cannabis campaigners - backed by the Scottish Cannabis Coffeeshop Movement - want to highlight what they say is a confusing legal situation surrounding the possession and use of the drug. Scottish Socialist Party MSPs Tommy Sheridan and Rosemary Byrne also signed up to become members of the cafe. Mr Sheridan called the cafe a "safe controlled environment for those who wish to consume cannabis". More than 100 people turned up to support the opening, but it was overshadowed when two people, a man and a woman, were charged with drugs possession by police. Mr Stewart was also charged for allowing people to misuse drugs on the premises. A police source said: "The landlord is definitely very unhappy with the situation and has said he is looking at the conditions of the lease. It could well be possible he might be looking to terminate it." The cafe, which has been receiving e-mails from around the world from people offering support and seeking membership information, opened as usual yesterday morning. Owner Paul Stewart said the day had passed quietly and he had shut up shop at around 6.30pm, an earlier closure time which had already been agreed with the police to avoid the expected influx of weekend revellers. Meanwhile, Lothian and Borders Police today insisted it is "business as usual" for the force. A spokeswoman said: "The possession and supply of cannabis is illegal. It is also illegal for the occupier or any person concerned in the management of the premises to knowingly allow any person to smoke or supply cannabis." She revealed police carried out drug operations in the city centre on Thursday morning. A 22-year-old man was reported to the procurator fiscal for dealing offences after cannabis and other drugs-related paraphernalia were found in a house in Portobello. Metropolitan Police Deputy Commissioner Ian Blair has backed the reclassification. He said policing of possession of small amounts of cannabis had become "increasingly pointless". He added: "It was grossly inefficient for officers to spend hours processing individuals for possession of cannabis in amounts about which neither the courts nor therefore the CPS (CRown Prosecution Service) were prepared to take any action."
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