Puff goes another weed dispensary
Steady stream of customers out of luck as raid shutters popular Queen St. E. retailer
“Another one?”
A steady stream of exasperated, would-be customers standing on the sunlit sidewalk outside the Toronto Leaf Dispensary on Queen St. E. and Jarvis St. on Friday afternoon share a common refrain.
Just after 1 p.m., uniformed police officers and the city’s bylaw enforcement officers walked up to the frosted glass door of the as-yet-illegal weed dispensary for a second go at raiding it.
The first time didn’t go as planned; the uniformed bylaw officers couldn’t get inside the first time they tried as there are five cameras installed outside the front door and an intercom for entry, the Star was told.
This time, they arrived with a police escort and a warrant in hand.
The quiet raid is only marked by the “open” sign on the storefront being extinguished. Still, it’s not signal enough for the dozens of prospective customers, some whom are surprised, while others are infuriated to find a police officer on the other side of the door.
In recent months, Mayor John Tory has repeated the city’s position that marijuana shops will be subject to enforcement if they continue to open and operate without a licensing regime in place.
Police and bylaw enforcement raids have continued, most recently snaring pot activists Marc and Jodie Emery and their Cannabis Culture chain stores as the city awaits word on legalization from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s federal government.
The Star was tipped off about one such raid and watched it play out over the course of several hours.
The officers only get so far at first; past the front entry is another locked door employees refuse to open, Mark Sraga, the city’s director of investigation services, tells the Star outside the shop. A locksmith is called in to assist. Ayoung man sporting a duffel bag is at first mistaken for the man with the right tools. The intruder is quickly expelled from the shop, turned away like the others. The real locksmith arrives shortly after.
Just hours earlier, it was rare for there to be a 10-minute stretch before a new customer entered the popular store that has earned rave reviews online.
“Toronto’s new best dispensary. Amazing service. Top notch bud. Beautiful store and knowledgeable staff. Must visit when in Toronto,” says one commenter on the dispensary site Leafly.com.
Both a man wearing a Canada goose jacket and boat shoes driving a Mercedes G-Class SUV and scruffier characters walking in off the street appear to be regulars at the retail store flanked by a boutique and a shuttered Thai restaurant to the west and Moss Park to the east.
“Is this a wise use of resources?” asks William Snitzler, speaking to a reporter standing next to a marked police van. “How much money are they using? How much manpower? Going to a judge, getting a warrant, getting actual logistics in place and then executing it. This is taking money and for what?”
Another man interrupts to ask if the store was raided.
“Closed, closed, closed, yeah,” Snitzler says. “That one’s closed too across the street. Don’t even bother!”
Employees, the Star was told, now face obstruction bylaw offences for earlier denying enforcement officers entry to the store. Additional criminal charges against four employees are expected, but have yet to be confirmed by Toronto police.
More than an hour after police first arrived, two customers, trapped inside when the raid occurred, are escorted out. Later, out come four employees in handcuffs, including two men decked out in fashionable Raptors and Blue Jays gear.
The pot, advertised online in dozens of strains including “Grapefruit” and “Hawaiian Dream,” would soon follow in evidence bags. Cash was also seized.
As the hours tick on, a rotating shift of officers from 51Division — the Star counted at least eight — make their way in and out of the shop.
A man who says he’s survived cancer and is a medical marijuana user, is upset to learn the Queen St. store has been raided.
“I don’t blame the police for doing this,” the man says.
He explains the shop acts as a bridge between his regular shipments. It has kept him off painkillers and free of their unwelcome side effects. He anxiously tries the locked door anyway.
Some arrive at the store on the recommendation from elsewhere, to purchase a particular strain or to find a shop that’s still open.
One thing many seem certain of is that it won’t stay closed for long.
“I’m sure they’ll be open in about two days or so,” says one man as he walks back the way he came, emptyhanded.