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MONTREAL (AP) Several dozen Montrealers experienced high times on Saturday as a marijuana cafe opened its doors less than a block away from a police station. Pot smoking is illegal in Canada, although Ottawa has proposed legislation that would decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana. Hugo St-Onge, leader of Quebec's Bloc Pot party, was all smiles as he cut a red, black and green ribbon and declared the cafe officially open. “It's time to stop the persecution,” St-Onge said on the cafe steps as trucks passed by honking support. “Here at Chez Marijane (people) can come to express themselves...

MONTREAL (CP) -- Police arrested two people on Saturday as dozens of people celebrated the opening of a pot cafe by passing around joints and breathing in air thick with marijuana smoke. Several police officers from a station less than a block away squeezed into Chez Marijane and arrested two men who were holding joints, said Hugo St-Onge, president of the Bloc Pot party. "To tell you the truth, I'm surprised," St-Onge said when reached on his cell phone at the police station where he was helping the two men, aged 26 and 51. "It's a waste of their time,...

NEWS STORY Police crash marijuana cafe's opening Two arrested at Montreal's Chez Marijane EILIS QUINN Canadian Press Sunday, November 30, 2003 Francois Gourd smokes a marijuana joint at the opening of Chez Marijane, a cafe and gathering place catering to marijuana users, in Montreal on Saturday. Gourd is also a well-known Quebec prankster. (CP/Ian Barrett) CREDIT: (CP/Ian Barrett) MONTREAL (CP) -- Police arrested two people on Saturday as dozens of people celebrated the opening of a pot cafe by passing around joints and breathing in air thick with marijuana smoke. Several police officers from a station less than a block...

Montreal police are expected to keep a close watch on Saturday's opening of a new marijuana cafe in the city. That won't be difficult, because there's a police station just down the road. Owners of Chez Marijane will allow patrons to smoke pot on the premises, but they won't be selling the drug. The space will double as the political offices of the Bloc Pot, which says the cafe will be used to push for the legalization of marijuana. City councillor Nicolas Tetrault has warned the activists that police will intervene if people are caught smoking pot at the new...