Canada: Up In Smoke Cafe owner denied bail

[LdyLunatic]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Hamilton Spectator
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[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Saturday 05 Aug 2006
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Pot crusader Chris Goodwin was denied bail yesterday after his arrest 10
days ago for allegedly flouting the terms of previous releases from jail
on charges of possessing small amounts of marijuana.

Goodwin, who will celebrate his 27th birthday Monday at the
Hamilton-Wentworth Detention Centre, is the owner of the Up In Smoke Cafe.

The King Street East cafe, which is currently low on stock following a
police raid July 26, had been selling cannabis seeds, marijuana cookies,
pot-advocacy magazines, pipes and bongs. It also held itself out as the
only compassionate club in the city where medically exempt users of
marijuana could light up a joint and smoke hassle-free.

Following two days of evidence and arguments from federal drug
prosecutor Jeffrey Levy and defence lawyer Peter Boushy, justice of the
peace Lillian Ross decided to cancel all of Goodwin's previous releases
on bail. She then denied his latest bail application.

"My heart goes out to Chris," said Boushy. "He's a highly intelligent
guy with a great deal of potential. Perhaps he should run for the NDP,
which I understand has a platform to decriminalize marijuana."

Goodwin was arrested July 26 after stepping off a flight from Vancouver
at Hamilton's international airport. Police then raided the Up In Smoke
Cafe and seized drug paraphernalia and edible marijuana products.

Police have visited the pot cafe hundreds of times since it opened in
August 2004. There have also been several raids where staff and patrons
were arrested for pot possession.

About a dozen of Goodwin's supporters attended his bail hearing this
week, including Alison Myrden, of Burlington, a medically exempt user of
marijuana, who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis at age 13.

Myrden, a former corrections officer, is licensed by Health Canada to
possess and cultivate small quantities of pot for the management of her
pain.

"I'm here to support Chris. I want to see him get out of jail," she said.

"I'm just afraid that they're not going to give him another chance."

Goodwin was remanded to Aug. 22. He has a tentative trial date of Aug. 29.

 

[GreenThumb]

How the hell do we even allow a Justice of the Peace to have this much power?
They are not even a law clerk let alone a lawyer.
I think they get these jobs from their political buddies..

 

[adam420]

I was in there like to months ago buying seeds.

 

[LdyLunatic]

JP's are people who are:

• • be at least 18 years of age;
  • be nominated for appointment by a member of the NSW Parliament (Legislative Assembly or the Legislative Council);
  • be an Australian Citizen;
  • be of good character;
  • not be an undischarged bankrupt;
  • consent to confidential inquiries being made to determine suitability for appointment, including a criminal records check;
  • establish an employment and/or a community based need for appointment as a Justice of the Peace; and
  • consent to having their full name published on the Justices of the Peace register.

so yes....it is from the political buddies

How the hell do we even allow a Justice of the Peace to have this much power?
They are not even a law clerk let alone a lawyer.
I think they get these jobs from their political buddies..

 

[astra007]

an order by the rcmp is just that; an order. be it a justice of the peace or a supreme court judge the order should be obeyed. usually its not a big issue. like dan k. of viseeds was ordered to have no internet usuage while his seedbank bust was being investigated. dan went to a cybercafe the next day and was caught by a rcmp officer. now the defense attorney is saying that all the mj seeds, cultivation charges and related charges are next to nothing and may be dismissed. BUT the order to not be on the internet may cost him jail time.

chris knows this as well and against the advise of his lawyer does what he dam well pleases to do. oh well, if i was ordered not to and did it anyway, then i guess "i get to bite the bullet". this is not only disobediance; its stupidity.

 

[astra007]

p.s. im a medical marijuana activist and have been for over 15 years

 

[hgih]

i read somewhere that up in smoke is closed till further notice

 

[astra007]

running out of stock does that. and police harrassment of the staff. unfortunately when it becomes personal first and the cause second; even the most loyal friend may loose faith. if you a true activist, then you are always a team player. safety in numbers.

 

[LdyLunatic]

chris knows this as well and against the advise of his lawyer does what he dam well pleases to do. oh well, if i was ordered not to and did it anyway, then i guess "i get to bite the bullet". this is not only disobediance; its stupidity.

i actually know Chris in person (i used to live in Hamilton) and i seriously couldn't agree more with your statement

Chris wasn't supposed to leave Ontario but decided to come to BC for Emerys wedding (and pick up seeds so i am led to believe)

did Chris think he was not going to get caught? and the next question you need to ask....who is close to Chris that ratted on him?

i may not live in Ontario anymore...but the storys make it across the country as fast as it goes down ...ahhh the power of rumor mongers

 

[astra007]

no1 ratted on him. he probably flew and thus his identity was flagged. if not the feds will have tags on him everywhere because chris flounts the law and you dont laugh in their faces

 

[adam420]

I agree with you astra, That's why I am not an activist or anything to do with legalizing marijuana. I just like to grow and smoke it so I keep quit about it. It was on the news tonight CH the up in smoke cafe and there is a sign in the window that says closed and they were talking about it being closed for good. That sucks I wanted to go get more seeds.