Weed whacked: After police raids, pot shops back in business,
Despite widespread raids last month that saw employees hit with drug charges, dozens of pot dispensaries remain open for business
A month after police raids on storefront medicinal marijuana dispensaries, dozens continue to sell pot across Toronto, including some raided outlets that have reopened.
“We understand the liability of what we’re doing,” says Katey Asaph of Eden Medicinal Society on Queen St. W. The shop resumed sales to those with proof of an ailment or injury a few days after the May 26 raids that saw staff, including Asaph, hit with Criminal Code drug trafficking charges. “There will always be a chance (of another raid) going forward, but we continue to remain open to provide a safe and comfortable space so that our clients can rely on us for cannabis access.”
Shops like hers are hoping Toronto will license them, following Vancouver’s lead. City licensing staff are, however, advising city council against a licensing regime until Ottawa makes major legal changes.
The same licensing staff participated in the raids, which came in response to complaints from homeowners, city councillors and Mayor John Tory. Police raided 43 shops, laying 186 criminal charges and 79 zoning-related charges against 90 people. But many of the pot shops in Toronto were not raided, including some serving recreational users and others requiring prescriptions or other proof of medical need.
The federal government has vowed to legalize recreational marijuana as early as next year.
For medical users, who are supposed to buy only by mail from federally licensed producers, Ottawa has until August to fix requirements determined to be too restrictive by a federal judge in B.C.
Amid the haze, some users say dispensaries that legitimately aim to help medicinal users are filling a need for those who want to touch and smell pot before they buy, and to be able to get it quickly whenever they need it.
Alex Blumenstein, who works with the Toronto Dispensary Coalition, does not understand how shops were targeted.
His group is trying to get the recent charges dropped, and is in favour of the city establishing rules so that shops can be licensed.
“I’ve spoken to a number of dispensaries who are part of this coalition and we can’t piece together why some were raided and some were not,” he said.
Mark Pugash, a Toronto police spokesperson, said the crackdown on marijuana dispensaries, dubbed “Project Claudia,” is ongoing. At least one shop, Cannabis Culture on Queen St. W., was raided by Toronto police Thursday afternoon and police were seen escorting three people from the building.
The city licensing department’s director of investigation services, Mark Sraga, said that any of the 83 known dispensaries found to be still operating, in contravention of a bylaw stating pot can distributed only by federally licenced producers in industrial parts of Toronto, risk zoning charges.
“We will charge those operating the businesses, and ultimately the premises owners, where they continue to operate illegally,” he said.
Dispensaries’ pleas for rules to make them legal, including defining where they can operate, are falling on deaf ears. Tory has talked about Toronto following Vancouver’s lead in regulating storefront dispensaries.
But, in a new report, Sraga’s boss, Tracey Cook, says there is no way to regulate pot shops until the federal government makes a major change to legalize them.
“To my knowledge, Vancouver has licensed only one business and is trying to get injunctions against 15” that contravene that city’s pot shop regulations, Sraga said, adding Vancouver has really only licensed marijuana advocacy.
“People point to the Vancouver as the model, but it seems they are having their own enforcement issues.”