RCMP raid Port Alberni pot shops, seize product, issue tickets

PORT ALBERNI — The managers of two pot shops on Vancouver Island where the RCMP seized thousands of dollars worth of marijuana say the B.C. government failed them by only approving one store in the province before legalization.

The Mounties say they entered the Port Alberni Cannabis Club at around 11 a.m. on Wednesday, before visiting the Leaf Compassion Cannabis Dispensary around 2 p.m., and found both stores were open without provincial licences.

Police gave the store no warning in the weeks or days before the raid, said general manager Christine Jarvis, and she blamed the province for not approving her licence application in time.

“I feel violated. They had enough time to do this,” she said, adding it’s been three years since Prime Minister Justin Trudeau signalled his intention to legalize marijuana.

Eric Vesaranta, GM of the Leaf Compassion Cannabis Dispensary, said the Mounties left the store practically empty. He intends to dispute his $575 ticket.

“It’s literally all the government’s fault with not having applications ready on time,” he said. “Everybody filled them out in time, but the government didn’t give them back in time for legalization.”

Officers seized cannabis products from both locations in Port Alberni and issued the owners violation tickets for the unlawful sale of marijuana, the RCMP said in a statement.

“In accordance with the new legislation and regulations, cannabis is to be sold exclusively at government-run stores, licensed private retailers and the B.C. government’s online store,” the statement said.

“While the legal recreational use of cannabis may be new, the enforcement of laws around the illegal production, distribution and consumption of cannabis is not.”

Sgt. Janelle Shoihet said she wasn’t aware of any other raids by the Mounties in B.C.

The federal government gave the provinces and territories the authority to licence retail stores ahead of marijuana becoming legal Wednesday. At this point, B.C. only has one licensed location — a government-run store in Kamloops — and an online store.

Both the Port Alberni Cannabis Club and the Leaf Compassion Cannabis Dispensary hold municipal business licences and paid a $7,500 fee as part of their application for provincial licences.

Jarvis said the Mounties seized everything that was visible in the store, totalling about $10,000 worth of product, and issued her a $575 ticket. Her customers are primarily older medical users who come for edibles, concentrates and other products that keep them off pain relievers and sleeping pills, she said.

“We have no access to get to Kamloops. We’d have to take a ferry and everything. Online, you have to have a credit card and wait two to four days shipping,” she said.

“It’s unreasonable to ask anyone in smaller towns to even bother trying to go that route. So now, they can’t even get it.”