cannabisnews.com: Owner Of British Cannabis Cafe Sentenced Owner Of British Cannabis Cafe Sentenced Posted by CN Staff on October 04, 2002 at 13:43:01 PT By Mike Wendling, CNSNews.com London Bureau Chief Source: CNSNews.com London - A man who tried to open Britain's first cannabis cafe has been sentenced to three years in prison for possessing and dealing marijuana.Colin Davies, 44, opened the "Dutch Experience" cafe in the northern England town of Stockport last September. Within minutes of opening, the coffee shop was raided and Davis was arrested. Customs officers later intercepted a shipment of about nine pounds of marijuana sent to the cafe owner from Holland. Davies modeled his business on similar enterprises in the Netherlands, where marijuana is officially illegal but small cannabis transactions at established cafes are tolerated.A judge in Manchester sentenced Davies on Thursday after a jury found him guilty of a total of eight charges including drugs offenses and perjury.Davies, who founded Medical Marijuana Cooperative before opening the cafe, pled not guilty to all charges and claimed he was providing marijuana for pain relief. Prosecutors disagreed and said that he was using a "medical facade ... to attempt to legitimise what he was about - supplying cannabis to anybody who wanted it."In handing down the sentence, Judge Stuart Fish said Davis "persistently flouted the law." Outside the court, one of the co-owners of the cafe said that Davies had "been made an example.""I could hardly believe it when I heard the news, I am in shock," said Dutch businessman Arnoldus Van Schaik. "With all that's been going on around cannabis for the last year you would have expected some understanding from the justice system."In July, the British government announced plans to reduce penalties for cannabis possession but increased penalties for dealing the drug.Those caught with small amounts of the drug will no longer be arrested under the new rules. But the government stopped short of decriminalization of marijuana smoking.A spokesman for the Legalize Cannabis Alliance, a pro-marijuana political party, criticized British law."The jury didn't have much choice but to convict him," Alun Buffry said Friday. "It's the law that's wrong in the first place." Greater Manchester Police, the force that arrested Davies, said they would continue to enforce existing drug laws. "No one has yet suggested that drug dealers who sell illegal substances for substantial revenues, as Colin Davies has been convicted of, are exempt from the law," a spokesman said.Despite several police raids, Dutch Experience has been sporadically doing business from the same location since its opening.There was no answer at the cafe's phone number Friday. Source: CNSNews.comAuthor: Mike Wendling, CNSNews.com London Bureau ChiefPublished: October 04, 2002Copyright: 1998-2002 Cybercast News ServiceContact: shogenson cnsnews.comWebsite: http://www.cnsnews.com/Related Articles & Web Sites:Legalize Cannabis Alliancehttp://www.lca-uk.org/Dutch Experiencehttp://www.dutchexperience.org/ Cannabis Cafe Raided as Owner Jailed http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread14342.shtmlCoffee Shop Man Guilty of Cannabis Charges http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread14335.shtmlCannabis Cafe Had Medicinal Aimhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread14217.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #5 posted by FoM on October 04, 2002 at 18:14:34 PT You're Welcome Dankhank It has happened to me too. I guess I'm not the only person who swears their monitors are shrinking in size right before their eyes. I can't imagine trying to use a 14 inch monitor anymore like I had with my first computer. What's New [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by Dankhank on October 04, 2002 at 17:59:50 PT Thanks FoM guess I'm blind ....;. thanks ........:-) [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by mayan on October 04, 2002 at 17:48:48 PT Last Lumps Outside the court, one of the co-owners of the cafe said that Davies had "been made an example."That's exactly what happened. It was also an effective means to silence Mr. Davies. The antis are just getting their "last lumps" in before the wall of prohibition comes tumbling down. [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by FoM on October 04, 2002 at 15:58:00 PT Dankhank 3 years in prison. [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by Dankhank on October 04, 2002 at 15:54:23 PT: What is it? OK, I give ......WHAT was the sentence?????? [ Post Comment ] Post Comment