MARIJUANA: 5 face charges after Vancouver pot market busted

Vancouver police are recommending 11 criminal charges be laid against five people in connection with Sunday’s bust of an openair marijuana market in Vancouver’s Robson Square.

VPD Deputy Chief Howard Chow says four people were arrested — and another is pending — after police descended on Robson in the block between Hornby and Howe late Sunday evening.

But just hours after the police released details of the bust Tuesday, pot was once again being sold on the block.

Robert Moore, president of World Cannabis, an anti-prohibition advocacy group, was at the “cannabis farmers market” Tuesday afternoon but not selling cannabis. His group was there to support the protesters selling cannabis and to encourage them to sell to adults only, he said.

Moore said the vendors were risking arrest because they believe cannabis needs to be inexpensive and accessible to all Canadians, something they argue the proposed legalized system will not allow.

Vendors at the tents were charging $5 per gram of dried cannabis, compared to the $10 per gram many dispensaries charge.

Moore said he respected the people who were arrested in recent days.

“Those people, they’re ballsy and they want to sell cannabis, and I support that,” he said. “There’s a minimal risk. The worst thing is they (police) could come down here, take their weed and ‘red zone’ them or whatever.”

Christopher Keats was selling dried cannabis and brownies in one of the tents. Keats, who said he is homeless and trying to get off the street, said he was protesting for his legal right to fair access to cannabis, without fear of prosecution and a government monopoly.

“We’re just taking a stand for the injustice,” he said.

Keats said his act of protest was worth risking arrest.

“Absolutely,” he said. “As a cannabis user and a cancer survivor, yes, it is for me.”

The square, which was permanently closed to traffic by the city in 2016 to create a public plaza, had been taken over in recent weeks by those selling B.C. bud and edibles from tables, tents and kiosks.

Chow says Sunday’s raid, which yielded more than nine pounds of dried marijuana, 28 pounds of edible marijuana product — including gummies, lollipops, baked goods and liquid oils — along with more than $4,000 in cash and weapons such as bats, pipes and a baton, was the culmination of a six-week investigation called Project Apprentice.

David Hill, a 42-year-old Vancouver man, has been charged with one count of trafficking in a controlled substance and one count of possession for the purpose of trafficking.

The names of the remaining people arrested will be released once criminal charges are approved by Crown counsel.

“We have been working with the City of Vancouver and monitoring the situation in the 800-block of Robson Street for several months now,” said Chow.

“Our response has been incremental. However, at each stage, the vendors have refused to co-operate and concerns around public safety have increased. As such, we have had to escalate our response.”

Possessing and selling cannabis for non-medical purposes is currently illegal across the country.

In July, the new federal Cannabis Act is expected to make it legal for adults over the age of 18 to possess up to 30 grams of cannabis.

Chow said there may have been a protest component to the market at one time, but it has morphed into a 24/7 illegal operation.

“I believe there was a component in the early days that was legitimately protesting. We police over 200-plus protests a year and we respect every individual’s right to protest but, let’s face it, these traffickers are there … walking out with thousands of dollars in their pocket,” he said.

“This is something we have to put a stop to.”

All those arrested Sunday were released on the condition they stay away from Robson Square.

On Monday, Chow said a Vancouver man in his 20s was arrested for breaching his release condition when he returned to the site.