IT'S A FRIENDLY JOINT

The Hot Box Is Not Your Average Cafe. It's BYO, for Starters

It doesn't take Peter Tosh's Legalize It, which is even now poking out of
the speakers, to convince this crowd. Joints are being rolled, pipes are
being stuffed with hash, smoke is being inhaled. In short, there are about
12 people here getting high on a public patio located in the back of a
cannabis culture shop in downtown Toronto.

It's called the Hot Box Cafe, and since it opened three months ago it has
been creating a lot of buzz, so to speak. "I bumped into this guy at the Om
festival and he told me about this place," says Mike, one of the patrons.
"I was in the neighbourhood so I decided to come on by." Mike likes what he
sees, and figures it is high time such a venue opened in Toronto. Then he
embarks on a story about how some turtles are procreating in the patio
pond. These two observations illustrate two things: that the city is more
liberal than it used to be, and that Mike is very high.

There are a few rules for the patio and the indoor cafe: No minors are
allowed. And buying or selling marijuana is forbidden -- by the customers
and the cafe itself. Everyone brings their own. This is simply a public
venue for smoking.

"My whole theory about pot is to normalize it, y'know? That's why I started
the Hot Box Cafe," explains the proprietor, Madame Hempress. She has a
bouncy, cheerful approach to life that is perfect for her line of work. The
obvious question, of course, is how the local police have reacted to this
communal pot-smoking spot.

"I have not had any visits from them. I have tried to put out an energy
that is not negative with this place," she offers, "and I think the vibe
here is a lot more positive than some bar where you have a roomful of
drunks who are possibly starting fights and such. So my plan is to keep it
positive. That's how I deal with the police issue."

A sturdy wooden fence wraps around the patio, with strategically placed
foliage overhead to protect visitors from the gaze of passersby. Bright
yellow and green plastic chairs and tables are scattered about, and of
course there is the aforementioned pond, with fish and horny turtles.

It's quite a scene. Anybody who has told you that lighting up is a young
person's game has never been to the Hot Box Cafe. There are young adults
gleefully breaking taboos; there are thirtysomethings smoking joints with
the same insouciance your father brought to a glass of Scotch after work;
there are forty- and fiftysomethings with ponytails, and Hemingway bears
who look as though they've been to the four corners. They're all here --
talking, smoking, playing board games, smoking, listening to music, smoking ..

"You see that guy over there," says one patron, pointing to a greying
hippie entertaining five people, who looks to be the centrifugal force on
the patio: "He's been here every time I have. He's like the professor of
this place. I think he has a PhD in weedology with a minor in hash pipe
construction."
The degree has obviously been useful. Prepping his hash pipe, he uses tools
that would make a mason jealous. And to underline his long-term commitment
to dope, he'll often throw in a "Mannnn" at the end of a sentence.

Alcohol isn't served here, but you can buy overpriced tasteless lemonade
and overpriced smoothies with little umbrellas. There are hemp cookies and
there's a fresh hemp salad. The staff is very friendly, even festive.

The atmosphere, the reason for being here and the friendliness of everyone
really do give rise to ridiculous thoughts about how the world would be a
better place if we all just lit up.

And, hey, what are those turtles doing, anyway?