POT RAID RAISES QUESTIONS
Should other dispensaries worry?
In some respects, the news that Vancouver police raided Marc and Jodie Emery’s Cannabis Culture storefront Thursday comes as little surprise.
Raids happen from time to time, even here in Vancouver, where pot shops are more common than McDonald’s restaurants and many of them have business licences.
And the Prince and Princess of Pot tend to thumb their noses at the authorities — more so than others who openly trade in illegal drugs.
But it is a surprise that a Toronto police investigation spurred local law enforcement into action against the Emerys’ business.
The pot activists were arrested Wednesday in Toronto. On Thursday, the pair were each charged with several criminal offences including conspiracy to commit an indictable offence, trafficking and possession of marijuana, resin and derivatives, and possession of proceeds of drug money.
None of those charges are all that explosive. They’re precisely the sort that would stick to the legion of marijuana business owners across this city, which is part of what makes the Vancouver Police Department’s involve- ment in this raid so curious. For several years, the VPD has cracked down only on violent drug traffickers and those who prey on minors, marginalized people or those with drug addictions. They have also shut down pot shops with connections to organized crime.
The Emerys have been in the pot business for well over a decade. So why raid now? The simple answer is that the VPD was assisting Toronto police by carrying out a warrant obtained in Ontario and confirmed here in B.C.
But they didn’t have to, said Kash Heed, who has served as B.C.’s solicitor general and the head of the VPD’s drug squad.
Police Chief Adam Palmer could have said no, recognizing, say, that trafficking in marijuana is the least of this city’s drug problems. Saying no may have ended in embarrassment, as drugs are under federal jurisdiction and the Mounties could have stepped in to carry out the warrant instead, Heed suggested.
Certainly the raid in Vancouver has raised the question of whether the VPD’s policy on policing pot shops has shifted.
For Heed, it could be a signal that the VPD “will pay attention to this matter more so than they have previously.”
Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson, city manager Sadhu Johnston and city media relations staffers all refused to take questions on local police policy.
Bizarrely, VPD directed that policy question to Toronto police. In so doing, they refused to answer whether their approach to dealing with local dispensaries had changed, or under what conditions they would raid a pot shop.
In short, nobody’s saying anything about anything on this one.
Except for Heed. And Melissa De Genova. The Non-Partisan Association councillor has long been a critic of the decision to regulate pot shops in Vancouver rather than shut them down.
Nearly 200 pot shops applied under the city’s regulatory scheme and about 35 have received development permits or business licences. Many that were denied never shut their doors and, by De Genova’s estimate, another 50 shops never bothered applying at all.
The Emerys’ Cannabis Culture locations are among those that never applied.
Licensed dispensaries in Vancouver vary in ambience, but all are much like any other retail storefront. The Emerys’ lounges are different. They’re places to chill, smoke, and live the high life. Just like their owners, they push the boundaries of what is and is not allowed.
But that’s not something that bugged the VPD lately. And unless more serious charges are filed, Vancouver’s involvement on this one will remain a bit of a head scratcher.