cannabisnews.com: Cannabis Cafe Shut Down Cannabis Cafe Shut Down Posted by FoM on November 20, 2001 at 09:16:50 PT Lead Story Source: Manchester Evening News Police raided Stockport‘s cannabis cafe this afternoon and shut it down. Officers burst in as owner Colin Davies was being interviewed by BBC TV about whether the law was turning a blind eye to his venture.Uniformed officers searched scores of customers at the Dutch Experience cafe in Hooper Street before arresting Mr Davies and a number of others, who were taken to Stockport police station. This afternoon’s raid happened as media interest in the cafe increased, with a story in the Manchester Evening News about the tourists flocking there.BBC reporter Stuart Flinders was filming for a feature about how the cafe was continuing to remain open when the raid happened.Mark Bradnell, 20, an unemployed gardener of Buxton Road, Heaviley, Stockport, said: ‘‘I thought it was a joke at first. They came in and said ‘Police. Police. Don’t move’ and then plainclothes officers came in. The camera crew was filming away. The police pulled Colin Davies out and he said ‘You don‘t have to handcuff me — I will come quietly.’ I don’t agree with it. He helps people with medical needs. I’ve seen what alcohol does and I have never seen anyone rowdy in this cafe. I love it.’’Professional boxer Jimmy Louis, 27, of Forbes Road Offerton, Stockport, said: ‘‘I was having a chat with Colin and the BBC and they came in and grabbed Colin and arrested him. They started searching everybody.‘‘They carted off about 15 people. There were about 20 police officers here. It’s just a waste of taxpayers’ money.’’ Mr Davies, 44, who says he supplies marijuana to sick people to ease their pain, hit the headlines in April last year when the Queen unwittingly accepted a marijuana plant from him at the opening of The Lowry in Salford.• Senior police officers in London today indicated a radical shift on drug policy by publicly advocating that Ecstasy should be downgraded to a Class B drug.They also backed special areas where addicts could legally inject heroin. The officer in charge of a pilot project in south London in which cannabis users are being let off with a caution said arresting people for possession of Ecstasy was a ‘‘waste of valuable police resources’’ and attention should be directed at more harmful drugs.Metropolitan Police deputy assistant commissioner Andy Hayman told the Commons Home Affairs Select Committee that chief officers would support Ecstasy being downgraded from Class A to Class B if medical and scientific evidence recommended it.‘‘There seems to be medical and scientific evidence that puts it alongside other amphetamines,’’ he said.Newshawk: puff_tuffSource: Manchester Evening News (UK)Published: November 20, 2001Copyright: 2001 Manchester Evening NewsContact: postbag mcr-evening-news.co.ukWebsite: http://www.manchesteronline.co.ukRelated Articles & Web Site:Dutch Experiencehttp://www.dutchexperience.org/Roll Up at Britain's First Cafe for Dope Smokers http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread11318.shtmlPolice Say: Sell The Drug in Shops and Pubs http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread11317.shtmlWhy Britain is Going Dutch http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread11175.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #9 posted by kaptinemo on November 21, 2001 at 06:24:55 PT: This, in the land of Chumbawumba A few years ago the British anarchist musical group Chumbawumba wrote a rather catchy tune about the attitude of the average working sod in Thatcherite Corporate Britain. It wasn't a very involved tune, just a chant, really. But it very concisely frames the entire incident:"I get knocked down But I get up again You're never going to keep me down."Plain and simple. And so true. We won't be kept down. We keep getting back up. And will continue to do so. Until the antis get a good look at their wounds and realize that the damage they are doing to themselves by their oppresing us is cumulative, whereas what they do to us is transitory.WE WILL PREVAIL [ Post Comment ] Comment #8 posted by mayan on November 20, 2001 at 17:39:47 PT Last Licks The cops are just trying to get in some last licks before the laws are reformed. This police action will only accelerate the process. The snowball of reform gets bigger every day & those who try to stop it's increasing momentum will be plowed under unless they wise up & become a part of it. The truth is the truth & that aint no lie! [ Post Comment ] Comment #7 posted by FoM on November 20, 2001 at 15:17:30 PT That is good news Once the toothpaste is out of the tube you just can't put it back in. EJ, Compassion and ethics that's so true. Those are the most important issues. [ Post Comment ] Comment #6 posted by E_Johnson on November 20, 2001 at 15:04:30 PT You can't stop what betters people In the last five years of being a medical marijuana patient, I have been surprised at the quality of the people in the movement.Compassion and ethics are the currencies that fund this movement at its core. People with very divergent political ideologies seem to share these traits in common in this movement.You can't stop a force that is driven by compassion and ethics, because what betters people must ultimately triumph. That is the history of the human struggle for human rights in general. [ Post Comment ] Comment #5 posted by puff_tuff on November 20, 2001 at 13:24:24 PT Re-opened!! Nol van Schaik of WillieWortels posted this at Cannabis Culturecannabinol (member) 11/20/01 12:02 PM UK coffeeshop busted and closed, and re-opened!! Today, around 01.00 pm, the Stockport Police raided the Dutch experience again, and arrested Colin and 11 others, they are still under lock up...As soon as the police left the premises, the place was re-opened by the faithfull supporters, so the bust was a waste of time...again.More news about this all at www.dutchexperience.org in the forum. WillieWortels http://www.wwwshop.nl/Cannabis Culture http://www.cannabisculture.com/ [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by FoM on November 20, 2001 at 13:00:08 PT News Brief from The Guardian Unlimited 12 Held Over UK Cannabis Cafe Haul Source: Guardian Unlimited, The (UK) Published: Tuesday November 20, 2001 Copyright: 2001 Guardian Newspapers Limited Contact: letters guardian.co.uk Website: http://www.guardian.co.uk/ Ananova Twelve people have been arrested after officers seized cannabis during a raid on a Dutch-style coffee house in Greater Manchester. Police also uncovered cash following the search of The Dutch Experience Cafe, in Stockport, Greater Manchester. Two of the 12 taken into police custody have been arrested on suspicion of being involved in the management of a premises contrary to the mis-use of drugs legislation. Another was arrested for possessing cannabis with the intent to supply and the remaining nine for possessing a controlled drug. Superintendent Richard Crawshaw, of Greater Manchester police, said: "It would be unwise for anyone to make the assumption that flagrant defiance of the law has or ever will be tolerated by the police." [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by E_Johnson on November 20, 2001 at 11:04:27 PT The toothpaste is WAY out of the tube This is a worldwide revolution and the only way to stop it is to stop the Internet itself.The truth is being repreated more often than the lie. The lie is destined to die.The only question is -- will it be five years or just two?It's the same question that people asked when Gorbachev came to power, and the ratio of truth to lie in the USSR was boosted immeasurably by Glasnost.The entire Soviet Communist system collapsed under the enormous weight of the truth sitting on top of a foundation of 75 years of despicable manipulative lies.The situation with marijuana is completely analogous. The Internet is universal Glasnost for everyone who can be connected, or can be connected to someone who is connected.It's all a matter now of truth-telling. Go out and spread the truth, and eventually the empire of lies will be shown to be a bankrupt institution and fall down into its own ashes and be swept along with Marxism Leninism into the dirty dustbin of the history of human oppression of other humans. [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by goneposthole on November 20, 2001 at 10:54:55 PT "I've seen what alcohol does...." My grandfather was a drunk, and a darn good one. His liver was as hard as a football after drinking vodka for many years. It is hard to stop after 25 to 30 years of drinking booze. Poor guy, it was his "choice'.Expect a 'healthy' case of cirrhosis if you do.Pot has saved me from the same fate, I think and I know.What to do? What to do?L-eagle eyes [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by Robbie on November 20, 2001 at 09:45:24 PT Bastards Let's realize that all of the certainty surrounding these laws is still in question so you can go harrass and arrest them before the law gets changed. The machismo inherent in law-enforcement actions is not necessary and not warranted...in the end, highly criminal. Change the law and stop arresting people FFS! Progressive news [ Post Comment ] Post Comment