POT STORAGE
Hamilton has seized so much illegal cannabis that it has had to create a special storage room,
Hamilton police have seized so much cannabis from illegal dispensaries that they’ve had to create a special room in the basement of headquarters exclusively devoted to storing evidence.
It’s no secret that Hamilton has a dispensary problem. At one point, police believed Hamilton had the most per capita in the province. There are still more than 30 illegal businesses operating in the city after legalization.
Police say they’re committed to shutting every single one — a task helped by the creation of a the Provincial Joint Forces Cannabis Enforcement Team, which includes three Hamilton officers.
The cannabis room at central station is “like a bowling alley,” describes Darcia Hamilton, the drug evidence clerk working out of the property branch.
With shelves lining the walls, it is filled with bags of evidence collected from dispensaries, including from 11 raids since legalization Oct. 17, 2018. This is where seized pot sits while a case is before the courts.
Once a case is done, and the 30-day appeal period passed, drugs can be destroyed. Last year, there were four “drug burn” days that saw 11,500 bags incinerated.
When detectives seize illegal cannabis, there is a detailed process to follow. It starts at the scene after police execute a warrant. These are now led by the provincial team, but done in co-ordination with Hamilton Police Service, who seize the cannabis, says vice and drug unit Acting Det. Sgt. Cory Gurman.
After a warrant has been executed, police bag and tag every- thing in the store: dried bud, oils, edibles, lotions, concentrates. Everything is photographed and the seized product is placed in clear plastic bags with labels that include exactly where it was found.
It’s driven back to central station where the seized cannabis products are initially stored in a drying area — a well-ventilated and secure room.
Officers wear gloves and weigh samples, carefully placing a portion on a coffee filter to prevent residue on the scale. Samples are sent for testing to Health Canada, where it takes one or two months to get results.
The remaining cannabis is sealed and taken to the property branch, where large evidence lockers line a storage room. Once a detective locks the evidence bags in a locker, the key goes into a safe.
This is where Darcia Hamilton takes over. She verifies the evidence and processes the bags before putting them in the cannabis dispensary drug storage room. Everything from one warrant is in one box — ready to go to court if needed.
Once a case is done, the drugs go to another room “pending disposal.” Hamilton will contact the vice and drug unit, who then contact an undisclosed company for incineration.
Drug officers transport it and make sure it’s destroyed.
And then the cycle begins again.
“As fast as drugs go out, we’re seizing more,” Hamilton says. “Like a revolving door.”