Defiant pot sellers back after raid by city police
Food cart vendors raised concerns about site
An open-air weed market operating in downtown Vancouver’s Robson Square has been shut down by police.
Complaints were filed in recent weeks with the Vancouver police over vendors who had set up tents and carts in the pedestrian-only area, selling cannabis and related products. Nearby food cart vendors voiced concerns about marijuana booths selling to minors, and there were questions about whether they had business licences such as what is required of the food cart vendors.
Sgt. Jason Robillard confirmed Monday that Vancouver police had descended upon the block on Robson between Hornby and Howe late Sunday evening.
“There has been some police response related to the activity at the Vancouver Art Gallery,” he said in an emailed statement. “However, we do not have additional information to provide at this point.”
Dillon McArdle said he was at Robson Square on Sunday when police raided the retailers at about 10:30 p.m.
He said he has been part of what he calls a cannabis protest at Robson Square for two years. During that time, he said, police have raided it five times.
McArdle was back Monday morning with a dozen or so others who were, at first, giving away pot. When that supply ran out, they started selling for $5 a gram, the equivalent of $141.50 an ounce. At a medical dispensary, cannabis can cost up to $290 an ounce.
“We want everyone to receive cannabis at a reasonable cost,” he said.
He said all proceeds from sales of cannabis would go toward covering bail for Dave Hill, one of two people arrested Sunday.
In the past, similar open cannabis markets have sprung up on the north side of the art gallery, although usually only on April 20 of each year as part of a public rally in support of marijuana legalization.
The rally-turned-celebration has outgrown the north plaza in recent years and in 2016 was moved to Sunset Beach. Some 40,000 people were estimated to have attended the 2017 gathering.