Spliffin'



Scotland's first cannabis cafe opened in Leith, the port of Edinburgh today. The Purple Haze Cafe is right round the corner from where I was working a few months back when I was helping set up the new Waterstone's in Leith's Ocean Terminal and I passed it every day. It became an open hash bar today as the government moved the drug down to a Class C substance. Still illegal but less of a priority, leaving police free to tackle more important substances like heroin, which makes sense to me.



Still, it is illegal and a large number of plods turned up predictably (as did Tommy Sheridan, Scottish Socialist MSP, pretty predictably too) and finally some folk were arrested. The government is said to be spending millions on advising the public about cannabis now it has been re-classified. In brief this Department of Health release informs us:



Cannabis is still illegal, so smoke it in corners at parties, not in the street.



Cannabis can have detrimental effects on your health. We're not really sure what they are and we do know they are way below the effects of government licensed legal toxins such as alcohol or tobacco (or even exhaust fumes from internal combustion engines).



You may find your mind expanding under the drug's influence and realise deep philosophical truths mankind has sought after for millennia. Just be prepared to forget them all when you wake up next day and do check you coffee mug for dips before drinking from it.



On the back of the leaflet are more important facts you should be aware of, including a list of 24-hour stores and petrol stations in your area that you can call on when you get the munchies at 4am.