Despite tough new laws targeting illegal marijuana sellers, a pot shop busted in London's first police raid since Canada legalized cannabis was back in business on Friday — only one day later — and another that had unexpectedly closed was open again.
Dale Carruthers
Updated: November 30, 2018
Const. Jon Dechene stands guard outside the London Relief Centre, an illegal marijuana dispensary on Richmond Street, after London police and the OPP raided the downtown shop Thursday. (DALE CARRUTHERS/The London Free Press)
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Despite tough new laws targeting illegal marijuana sellers, a pot shop busted in London’s first police raid since Canada legalized cannabis was back in business on Friday — only one day later — and another that had unexpectedly closed was open again.
Such whack-a-mole-style battles between police and illegal sellers were common across Canada before recreational marijuana was legalized on Oct. 17, but the Ontario government had said its new laws, combined with strict enforcement, would put an end to the black market dispensaries.
Two high-profile cannabis crusaders call the police raids a waste of taxpayers’ money yet predict the crackdowns will continue and pot shops will keep popping back up.
“People who use cannabis are going to continue to buy it outside the system and trying to drive them to the OSC (Ontario Cannabis Store, the province’s monopoly online retailer) with raids and police actions are not going to be successful,” said Dana Larsen, director of the Vancouver Dispensary Society.
Adults in Ontario can legally buy marijuana products only from the OCS until bricks-and-mortar dispensaries open in April.
“I really think it’s absurd for the Ontario police and government to be promoting raids when there’s no legal alternative (to buy marijuana in stores),” said Larson.
“To have a raid when you have zero shops to buy cannabis in Ontario is really backwards,” he added.
The OPP and London police launched co-ordinated raids on the London Relief Centre at 691 Richmond St. and Healing Health at 490 Wonderland Rd. Thursday about 11:30 a.m.
But Healing Health was serving customers again Friday, while the Relief Centre remained closed.
A second Healing Health location on Dundas Street that was unexpectedly closed Thursday was also open again Friday.
“You can’t replace the entire existing cannabis industry with a new one,” said Jodie Emery, a longtime cannabis advocate and the owner of a hemp-themed cafe in Toronto.
“The more raids that happen, the more that Canadians see that legalization is not what they envisioned.”
London police have raided the dispensaries in the past, but this is the first time OPP officers have been involved in one of the operations.
Neither force has released any information about Thursday’s raids, or answered any questions, including about what was seized or how many people were arrested, but an OPP spokesperson confirmed charges have been laid under the Federal Cannabis Act.
Under that law, a conviction for possession for the purpose of distribution carries a prison sentence of up to 14 years.
Stiffer penalties won’t snuff out the black market, Larsen said, noting that dispensaries sell cannabis-infused edibles and extracts that aren’t sold legally yet.
“I think that this is going to continue for a couple of years,” he said of the police battle against unsanctioned pot shops.
Ontario’s former Liberal government, which was in charge as the countdown to legal pot began, said it would create a special pot law enforcement office, the Cannabis Intelligence Co-ordination Centre, drawing on police officers from across the province. But the unit’s creation was put on hold after the Doug Ford-led Progressive Conservatives were elected in June and its status remains unclear.
The premier’s office did not respond to a request for comment Friday about the enforcement office.
London police had previously raided the Relief Centre and both Healing Health locations, only to watch as the businesses reopened within days.
Canada’s licensed marijuana producers, meanwhile, have struggled to keep up with the surging demand for pot since the country lifted its 95-year prohibition on the drug.
Empty shelves have forced legal dispensaries in other provinces to scale back their hours, while the OCS has been plagued by product shortages, delivery delays and a data breach.
Advocates have also decried the raids on illegal dispensaries for affecting prescription pot users who have turned to the black market businesses for their medicine.
“When you see the lineups at these dispensaries, it’s supply and demand. People want access to cannabis,” Emery said.
“Governments have positioned themselves as the new pot dealers on the block, so they’re using government gunmen to force the competition to shut down.”
Last month, Toronto police Chief Mark Saunders said bylaw enforcement officers, not police, would take the lead in shutting down defiant dispensaries in the nation’s largest city.
London bylaw boss Orest Katolyk previously said he was in discussion with provincial officials to get clarity on what role, if any, his office would take on the file.
Dale Carruthers
Updated: November 30, 2018
Const. Jon Dechene stands guard outside the London Relief Centre, an illegal marijuana dispensary on Richmond Street, after London police and the OPP raided the downtown shop Thursday. (DALE CARRUTHERS/The London Free Press)
Share Adjust Comment Print
Despite tough new laws targeting illegal marijuana sellers, a pot shop busted in London’s first police raid since Canada legalized cannabis was back in business on Friday — only one day later — and another that had unexpectedly closed was open again.
Such whack-a-mole-style battles between police and illegal sellers were common across Canada before recreational marijuana was legalized on Oct. 17, but the Ontario government had said its new laws, combined with strict enforcement, would put an end to the black market dispensaries.
Two high-profile cannabis crusaders call the police raids a waste of taxpayers’ money yet predict the crackdowns will continue and pot shops will keep popping back up.
“People who use cannabis are going to continue to buy it outside the system and trying to drive them to the OSC (Ontario Cannabis Store, the province’s monopoly online retailer) with raids and police actions are not going to be successful,” said Dana Larsen, director of the Vancouver Dispensary Society.
Adults in Ontario can legally buy marijuana products only from the OCS until bricks-and-mortar dispensaries open in April.
“I really think it’s absurd for the Ontario police and government to be promoting raids when there’s no legal alternative (to buy marijuana in stores),” said Larson.
“To have a raid when you have zero shops to buy cannabis in Ontario is really backwards,” he added.
The OPP and London police launched co-ordinated raids on the London Relief Centre at 691 Richmond St. and Healing Health at 490 Wonderland Rd. Thursday about 11:30 a.m.
But Healing Health was serving customers again Friday, while the Relief Centre remained closed.
A second Healing Health location on Dundas Street that was unexpectedly closed Thursday was also open again Friday.
“You can’t replace the entire existing cannabis industry with a new one,” said Jodie Emery, a longtime cannabis advocate and the owner of a hemp-themed cafe in Toronto.
“The more raids that happen, the more that Canadians see that legalization is not what they envisioned.”
London police have raided the dispensaries in the past, but this is the first time OPP officers have been involved in one of the operations.
Neither force has released any information about Thursday’s raids, or answered any questions, including about what was seized or how many people were arrested, but an OPP spokesperson confirmed charges have been laid under the Federal Cannabis Act.
Under that law, a conviction for possession for the purpose of distribution carries a prison sentence of up to 14 years.
Stiffer penalties won’t snuff out the black market, Larsen said, noting that dispensaries sell cannabis-infused edibles and extracts that aren’t sold legally yet.
“I think that this is going to continue for a couple of years,” he said of the police battle against unsanctioned pot shops.
Ontario’s former Liberal government, which was in charge as the countdown to legal pot began, said it would create a special pot law enforcement office, the Cannabis Intelligence Co-ordination Centre, drawing on police officers from across the province. But the unit’s creation was put on hold after the Doug Ford-led Progressive Conservatives were elected in June and its status remains unclear.
The premier’s office did not respond to a request for comment Friday about the enforcement office.
London police had previously raided the Relief Centre and both Healing Health locations, only to watch as the businesses reopened within days.
Canada’s licensed marijuana producers, meanwhile, have struggled to keep up with the surging demand for pot since the country lifted its 95-year prohibition on the drug.
Empty shelves have forced legal dispensaries in other provinces to scale back their hours, while the OCS has been plagued by product shortages, delivery delays and a data breach.
Advocates have also decried the raids on illegal dispensaries for affecting prescription pot users who have turned to the black market businesses for their medicine.
“When you see the lineups at these dispensaries, it’s supply and demand. People want access to cannabis,” Emery said.
“Governments have positioned themselves as the new pot dealers on the block, so they’re using government gunmen to force the competition to shut down.”
Last month, Toronto police Chief Mark Saunders said bylaw enforcement officers, not police, would take the lead in shutting down defiant dispensaries in the nation’s largest city.
London bylaw boss Orest Katolyk previously said he was in discussion with provincial officials to get clarity on what role, if any, his office would take on the file.
