cannabisnews.com: New Montreal Cafe To Allow Patrons To Smoke Pot New Montreal Cafe To Allow Patrons To Smoke Pot Posted by CN Staff on November 29, 2003 at 13:30:49 PT By CTV.ca News Staff Source: CTV A new cafe has opened in Montreal that has patrons buzzing and the local police grumbling. Chez Marijane opened Saturday and will allow patrons to smoke marijuana on the premises. The cafe's name is a nod to a common nickname for marijuana. But the owners insist they won't be selling the drug, peddling only coffee and pastries. The space will double as the political offices of the Bloc Pot, the provincial counterpart of the Marijuana Party of Canada. Hugo St-Onge, the leader of the Quebec party, says the cafe will be used to push for the legalization of marijuana and to contribute to the debate surrounding the legalization of pot. St-Onge was all smiles as he cut a red, black and green ribbon and declared the cafe officially open Saturday."It's time to stop the persecution,'' he said on the cafe steps. "Here at Chez Marijane, people can come to express themselves and share their culture in a friendly and secure environment.''Montreal Police are threatening to close down the brasserie, which is located just down the street from a police station. They have warned they intend to enforce the law because pot possession is still illegal.St-Onge says consumption and possession will be tolerated at the cafe but there will be no trafficking. He says he has talked to police them and says they even offered crowd control for the grand opening in case there was too much traffic.Police watched the cafe opening Saturday but did not intervene.City councillor Nicolas Tetrault has warned the activists that police will intervene if people are caught smoking pot at the new cafe. The head of the Marijuana Party of Canada, Boris St. Maurice, has said it will be hard for police to stop people from smoking up. Source: CTV (Canada)Published: November 29, 2003Copyright: 2003 Bell Globemedia Interactive Inc. Website: http://www.ctv.ca/Contact: newsonline ctv.ca Marijuana Party of Canadahttp://www.marijuanaparty.org/CannabisNews -- Canada Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/Canada.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #7 posted by token on December 01, 2003 at 10:22:42 PT the pot cafe i think its about time that a city in the great country of canada has finaly opened a pot cafe where people can get togther and discuss there ideas and the cops should let them do so as long as no-one is being hurt by it then whats the problem? [ Post Comment ] Comment #6 posted by Kegan on November 30, 2003 at 03:29:44 PT 2 Busted in Montreal Pot Cafe The Montreal Police eventually "moved in".They busted two people. One of which has MS.Keeping Montreal safe. Way to go boys........assholes........ [ Post Comment ] Comment #5 posted by Granfalloon on November 29, 2003 at 18:15:01 PT Not the only joint in MTL where you can smoke weed Many places to see a rock show in MTL won't care if you smoke MJ inside, and I'm sure the police aren't ignorant of this fact. The only difference with this new café is that they're advertising their tolerance. It's funny how much image counts when it comes to imperial entanglements. Maybe not so funny, actually. [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by FoM on November 29, 2003 at 18:05:44 PT Update on Cafe Opening Quebec Police Move in On 'Pot Cafe' Last Updated Sat, 29 Nov 2003 20:25:23 MONTREAL - Two men were arrested Saturday at a new cafe where people are encouraged to bring and smoke their own marijuana. Dozens of customers were drinking coffee and passing around pot when police officers arrived, witnesses said. Authorities confirmed that the joint, called Chez Marijane, had been under surveillance since the doors opened. But they refused to say why only two people were arrested or whether officers would be back on Sunday. Some young children were also in the room, which was thick with smoke, according to investigators. The cafe is less than a block from a police station. Before the arrests, the owners of Chez Marijane made it clear that they would let patrons smoke, but not sell, pot on the premises. The space is intended to double as the political offices of the Bloc Pot, which is lobbying to make marijuana legal. Earlier, city councillor Nicolas Tetrault warned the activists that police would intervene if people were caught smoking pot at the new cafe. The head of the Marijuana Party of Canada, Boris St. Maurice, said he thinks it will be hard for police to stop everyone from smoking cannabis at the cafe. Judges in several provinces have ruled that it's unconstitutional to prosecute people for having small amounts of marijuana. Similar pot cafes have opened in a few other places in Canada, and charges have been laid in some cases. The federal government introduced legislation to decriminalize possession of less than 15 grams of marijuana. The bill, which did not pass before Parliament shut down earlier this month, is expected to be reintroduced next year. http://www.cbc.ca/stories/2003/11/29/potcafe_031129 [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by FoM on November 29, 2003 at 18:02:56 PT RasAric It started at 8PM ET. Some of the music on the show I don't know it's that old. That made me feel good! LOL! Some of the music I remember very well though. It's a fund raising concert for PBS. [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by RasAric on November 29, 2003 at 18:00:25 PT Thanks FoM ....is that eastern, central, pacific? I wonder if the police will mellow out a bit if St-Onge were to agree on a "donut drive-thru". [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by FoM on November 29, 2003 at 15:35:40 PT Off Topic: PBS Special Tonight I hope everyone is having a nice Thanksgiving Weekend. I'm not sure if anyone is interested and I'm not sure if all PBS channels will air this special. It is about 60s folk music. I thought I'd pass it on.8:00 PM American Soundtrack: This Land Is Our Land: The Folk Rock Years II [ Post Comment ] Post Comment