DRUGS SHOP OPENS
IN BATH
Source: Bath
Chronicle
Pub Date:
Tuesday, 9 March 2004
Author: Emma
Cooney & Tom Bradshaw
Web site: http://www.thisisbath.com/index.jsp
Contact: letters@bathchron.co.uk
DRUGS SHOP OPENS
IN BATH
A Controversial
drug shop has opened in Bath which exploits legal loopholes to sell cannabis
seeds and magic mushrooms.
The Appy Daze
shop is worrying police - but they are powerless to do anything about it.
The store
doubles as the headquarters for aspiring politician Chris Jones, who is
planning to stand at the next General Election as a candidate for the Legalise
Cannabis Alliance in the city.
Bob Holland's
novelty shop in Walcot Street sells magic mushrooms, cannabis seeds and kits to
grow both, along with items such as scales and pipes.
Mr Holland says
his clients range in age from 18 to 80 and in backgrounds from travellers to
lawyers.
He said:
"We do not sell to kids wearing school uniform and will not sell a strong
hallucinogen to someone who has never done it before. If they enjoy the weakest
mushrooms then they move up to stronger ones. We do not sell just to make
money. We want people to have a good time.
"If a
16-year-old has not got a clue, we will throw him out. It is not for me to
teach people about drugs and it is not for me to promote them.
"We do not
advocate anybody going out and breaking the law. The seeds are sold for novelty
purposes only."
Although it is
illegal to buy, grow or sell cannabis, it is not against the law to sell
cannabis seeds or the equipment used to grow it.
Magic mushrooms,
which can be picked in fields throughout the country, can be sold as long as
they are fresh and not dried out. The shop sells five types of magic mushrooms,
ranging from Mexican to the strongest Hawaiian - the hallucinogenic effects of
which can last for ten hours.
All are produced
in the Netherlands, imported fresh, and sold in 10g or 15g bags.
Mr Holland also
sells laughing gas, which is sucked in through a balloon and gives a 30-second
giggly high, and a plant from the mint family called salvia divinorum, used for
its hallucinogenic effects.
Mr Holland said
the cannabis laws were confusing and backs the campaign to legalise the drug.
He would sell the substance if it was made legal.
He said:
"You can buy drugs as easily as you can buy a newspaper. They are
available everywhere and Bath is no different.
"Hopefully
the Government will come to its senses and realise it has lost the war.
"If shops
like this sold it, people would know what they were getting and would not be
sold cannabis pressed with heroin, which some dealers use to get customers
addicted and on to the harder stuff."
He added:
"Information is the way forward. Let people make an informed choice. I
believe no one has the right to tell me what I can or cannot put in my
body."
Inspector Paul
Mogg, of Bath police, confirmed the shop was not breaking any laws.
He said: "The
sale of these items in an unprepared or uncultivated state is not a criminal
offence. We are far from happy with the business in question, but there is no
action we can take at present.
"We will,
however, continue to monitor the situation."
One of his
colleagues, Sgt Kevan Rowlands, insisted: "The war on drugs is not lost.
Cannabis has not been legalised. It has been reclassified as a Class C drug. It
remains illegal to grow cannabis plants or to produce cannabis.
"The
reclassification of cannabis to a Class C drug is an attempt by government to
focus our efforts on drugs which cause most harm, such as heroin and crack
cocaine.
"I would
strongly discourage anyone from taking cannabis or magic mushrooms."
Inge Shepherd,
manager of the community safety and drug action team at Bath and North East
Somerset Council, said it was determined to reduce the harm caused to families
and communities by drug and alcohol misuse.
"We cannot
prevent the sale of items which are legal, but it is important that people remember
cannabis is still illegal and, for some people, heavy use can cause health
problems."
A spokeswoman
for the Home Office said: "It is difficult to make illegal what can be
found in nature, and cannabis seeds can be used for other purposes."
Chris Jones, who
works as a shop assistant at Appy Daze on Saturdays, said he was looking
forward to taking on sitting Bath MP Don Foster at the next election.
Mr Jones, 37,
said: "I will be campaigning on a single issue, but under the umbrella of
that single issue there is a whole manifesto that will benefit Britain
agriculturally and industrially."
Mr Jones said
hemp had a range of applications and could be used as fuel, medicine and for
clothing.
"It is a
very beneficial plant for the UK," he said. "It's about putting these
ideas in people's consciousness and making them more aware about hemp."
Mr Jones said
the alliance hoped to field 120 candidates at the next election.
Liberal Democrat
Mr Foster, who backed the downgrading of cannabis to a Class C substance so
that police could spend more time tackling harder drugs, said: "I welcome
anyone who wishes to stand against me and do the job that I currently do and
love. In our democracy, there is quite rightly the opportunity for people of
quite different views to put themselves forward to represent Bath and the
surrounding area.
"I hope very much that Mr Jones will
nevertheless have a clear position on some of the other vitally important
issues affecting people in the constituency, such as health services, transport,
crime and the fight against terrorism."