Marijuana may be legal soon but it isn’t yet. That's the message from Regina police, who raided six dispensaries on Wednesday night.
The move comes after the businesses refused to close up shop, despite warnings from police.
That evidence included what police described as hundreds of pounds of marijuana, thousands of dollars in cash, packaging, till receipts and ledgers, all of which police say are evidence that a commercial business was operating.
Police also expressed concerns that much of the activity happening inside the dispensaries won’t be legal even after marijuana is legal, like selling to youth, and the selling of edibles.
Chief Bray also said that not everyone will face criminal charges, employees of these dispensaries, are not the focus.
“This is about owners and operators and potentially in some cases landlords who had knowledge of the business that was happening, the knowledge that it was illegal to do, and the knowledge that they could face criminal consequences as a result of it.” Bray told media on Thursday morning.
Although some of the owners may have been taken into custody, police say no charges have been laid yet, but charges will be laid once the investigation is complete.
Cannagreen, Green Street and Best Buds Society were three of the six pot shops that were raided.
Best Buds Society and Green Street were back open for business again today. However, Cannagreen remained closed.
The owner of Best Buds Society said they refer to themselves as a medical dispensary and are completely open about selling marijuana and related items on site.
Jonathan Metz, owner of Green Street, said the business considers itself a clinic and consulting business that helps people with prescriptions obtain their medical marijuana licenses. He said the clinic does not sell marijuana to its clients.
“When did we ever sell marijuana? We even have a liability form that we have people fill out, stating that we are not selling marijuana for any monetary value. There was marijuana on site, but it was all for our employees," Metz said.
Regina police say they understand that there is a medical need for marijuana. However, they said they want users to understand there is a legal way to obtain it through appropriate channels and while the dispensaries that were operating in Regina were convenient, they are still illegal.
"We really work with them to try and understand the process and really it is very accessible. This is more a matter of convenience. And unfortunately that convenience right now is not legal or regulated, so at that point we couldn't let it continue," Chief Evan Bray of the RPS said.
