Solicitors warn cannabis cafe man in Wales

[ReformMaryJaneLaws]

Solicitors warn cannabis cafe man
Nov 15 2003

Darren Devine, The Western Mail

A BUSINESSMAN who wants to open Wales' first cannabis cafe has been forced to remove two controversial websites critical of North Wales Police officers after he was threatened with legal action.

Jeffrey Ditchfield's northwalespolice.com and a forum debating change on beggarsbelief.com have now been down for more than a week after solicitors Russell Jones & Walker contacted the businessman claiming material on the sites was "defamatory and offensive".

The solicitors have promised to drop the matter provided Mr Ditchfield removes the comments and posts an apology to the officers on the sites.

Earlier this year Mr Ditchfield opened BeggarsBelief, in Rhyl, from where he said he was helping people suffering from illnesses like cancer and multiple sclerosis by giving them free cannabis for medicinal purposes.

His shop was raided on the first day it opened in September and Mr Ditchfield faces prosecution for possession and possession with intent to supply.

Mr Ditchfield has also said it is his long-term aim to run Beggars Belief as an Amsterdam-style cannabis cafe, selling the drug over the counter.

Russell, Jones & Walker contacted Mr Ditchfield, the secretary of the North Wales Police Federation and two other officers.

Two claimed the site libelled them, while the third argued that remarks made on the web pages about him were untrue and a breach of his human rights.

But Mr Ditchfield has threatened a counter action against the police officers and the solicitors, saying taking down the websites has interrupted his trade because he uses them to advertise an on-line shop.

"I didn't withdraw the sites. They went to a company which uploads to the web and threatened it with legal action," he said.

"It's only temporary, because I'm now looking to host it off-shore."

By hosting the site off-shore, Mr Ditchfield hopes to avoid falling foul of this country's libel laws.


*edit* I tried to post the exact link to the article but am having some kind of jacked up problem. Here's a link to the site itself where the article originated.

http://icwales.icnetwork.co.uk/