Feds ripped over crime in cannabis
Health Canada background checks not good enough, Farnworth says
The federal government isn’t doing enough to keep organized crime out of the medical marijuana business, B.C. Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth said Thursday.
Farnworth was reacting to two recent Postmedia News stories about full-patch members of the Hells Angels being involved in medical pot in B.C.
This week, Postmedia reported that West Point Hells Angel Lukasz Cimoszko, who died recently of a suspected overdose, had a federal licence to grow medical cannabis despite allegations by the B.C. Civil Forfeiture Office that he was involved in organized crime.
In February, Postmedia revealed that longtime Vancouver Hells Angel Hal Porteous was offering on Instagram to help people obtain medical marijuana growing licences. Porteous has since retired from the biker gang.
“We don’t want to see the involvement of organized crime in either medical cannabis or the recreational cannabis industry. This is clearly evidence that not-thorough-enough background screenings are being done by Health Canada on who is getting these licences,” Farnworth said. “There is absolutely no place for organizations like the Hells Angels in either recreational cannabis or medicinal cannabis.”
Farnworth said the federal government has promised reforms to the medical cannabis licensing system within five years to help deal with organized crime infiltration and other issues that have been raised.
“I think that is far too long. I think now, with the legalization of recreational cannabis, there needs to be significant reform done on the medical cannabis side,” he said.
He said organized crime’s involvement in the production and sale of cannabis “is an area of real concern for us at the provincial and local level.”
“It’s frustrating that Health Canada doesn’t seem to realize this, and I don’t know why,” Farnworth said. “There should be thorough background checks because they know that this whole system of medical cannabis is attracting organized crime like moths to a flame.”
Cimoszko was fighting a lawsuit filed by the director of civil forfeiture last year after the biker was stopped by Vancouver police and found to have 240 grams of marijuana, a machete and bundles of cash totalling $12,270 in his leased Corvette.
He argued in his court documents that he had a medical licence to possess the pot and that police violated his Charter rights when officers searched him.
But the government agency alleged he was in possession of more pot than his licence allowed and that he was “participating in the activities of a criminal organization.”
“Mr. Cimoszko did not have sufficient legitimate income to have acquired the money,” the suit said.
It noted that he got his licence in April 2013 under the Medical Marijuana Access Regulations.
At the time, Cimoszko’s business partner in a car import company, fellow West Point Hells Angel Larry Amero, was facing cocaine importation charges in Quebec. The charges were stayed last year due to delays in the case. But Amero has since been charged with conspiracy to kill two gang rivals.
Health Canada media relations officer Rebecca Purdy said she couldn’t comment on how a Hells Angel would qualify for a medical pot growing licence.
“For privacy reasons, Health Canada cannot comment on whether an individual is authorized and registered to produce a limited amount of cannabis for their own medical purposes,” she said in an email.
Earlier this year, Postmedia reported that Porteous, a member of the Vancouver Hells Angels chapter until recently, offered to help people get medical licences.
“If anyone is in serious pain and doesn’t want to take prescription medication and would like a medical marijuana license to grow there (sic) own medication, please DM me. This is legal!!”
Retired police biker expert Andy Richards provided Postmedia with a copy of Porteous’ social media post.
Richards, now CEO of Spire Secure Logistics, said the revelations about Cimoszko’s growing licence “certainly reflects poorly on Health Canada’s ability to regulate our national medical cannabis system.”
“When one full-patch HA member is able to obtain a personal production licence, and another has the ability to broker ‘pooled’ licences across Canada, one has to wonder how well regulators will be able to monitor and inspect aspects of the legal recreational cannabis system,” he said Thursday.