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Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
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UK: Freedom hope for cannabis cafe boss
Manchester Evening News
Friday 17 May 2002 CANNABIS cafe owner Colin Davies will hear today if he is to be released from prison. The Stockport campaigner has been behind bars since November when he was refused bail after being charged with possession and importation of cannabis. He opened the Dutch Experience, the UK's first Amsterdam-style "coffee shop" in September as part of his campaign to help those with debilitating illnesses get access to cannabis. Colin set up the Medical Marijuana Co-Operative after he found it helped him when he suffered a serious back injury. It was thought the campaigner would have to stay in prison until his trial, which is set to begin on June 24. But in a dramatic turnaround, Judge Peter Fish at Minshull Street Crown Court said there had been a "significant change in circumstance". The judge was today hearing a bail application on Colin's behalf in private. It is thought Colin, 44, has a good chance of being released because he has now been imprisoned in Strangeways for six months. Colin's solicitor Chris Hinett said the move was "highly unusual" as previous bail applications had been refused. "The judge felt there was a substantial change in circumstance and we are feeling very hopeful for today's hearing," Mr Hinett, of Stockport law firm Henry & Co, said. The Dutch Experience, based at Hooper Street in Stockport, has been the subject of a number of high-profile police raids. This week - on Colin's instructions from his prison cell - customers have been told they can no longer purchase cannabis on the premises. The small bar area at the front of the shop will remain open for soft drinks and snacks.
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