Close X
Sunday, November 10, 2024
ADVT 
National

Toronto Pot Shop Owners Want Police, Stores To Co-operate

The Canadian Press, 26 Jan, 2017 12:20 PM
  • Toronto Pot Shop Owners Want Police, Stores To Co-operate
TORONTO — A group of Toronto pot shop owners is calling for greater co-operation and understanding between police and their fellow dispensary owners.
 
The Toronto Dispensary Coalition backed up recent police assertions that there has been a spike in violent attacks against marijuana-oriented stores in recent months.
 
Spokeswoman Tania Cyalume says pot shop owners are making a mistake by not reporting the incidents when they occur and urged fellow owners to take a less skeptical attitude towards police.
 
But she also says police have played a part in the situation by carrying out multiple recent raids on pot shops across the city.
 
She says the raids send a message to would-be robbers that dispensaries make easy targets and leave owners vulnerable to attacks.
 
She called on both sides to work together as legislation is expected later this year on the legalization of marijuana.
 
Last May, Toronto police began to crack down on the dozens of illegal marijuana shops that have popped up throughout the city. During that operation — dubbed Project Claudia — police raided 43 shops and arrested 90 business owners and employees.
 
Since then, police said they've conducted a further 33 raids — about one a week — since June.
 
 
Cyalume said the police raids have created the kind of dynamic that has led to the surge in recent attacks.
 
"It creates a violent community, because if police are waging a war on dispensaries, then obviously criminals and thieves think they can just do it because nobody's going to report it."
 
Earlier this week, Toronto police held a conference to announce that pot shop attacks were on the rise and often going unreported.
 
Supt. Bryce Evans said there have been 17 robberies at dispensaries since last June with only nine of them being reported to authorities.
 
During some of those robberies, Evans said employees and customers in the stores were stabbed, pistol-whipped, pepper-sprayed and shot at.
 
"I find it disturbing that the owners and operators of these storefronts refuse to co-operate, turn over evidence and instruct their employees not to speak to police after they become victimized," he said.
 
Cyalume said keeping silent was the wrong approach, adding her personal experience with police suggest store owners would find allies if they're victims of crime.
 
"We have had situations where our staff has had to press the panic button and the police were called," she said. "They arrived quickly, and the situation was done, and we didn't get raided after the fact. We don't' feel scared to call them, but I know other dispensaries definitely do."
 
Clashes between police and dispensaries are not unique to Toronto, with raids taking place in Halifax, Montreal and beyond.
 
Earlier this week, a series of raids in Saint John, N.B. elicited a denunciation from activists who felt police were sending mixed messages about the need to crack down on shop owners.
 
The federal government is expected to table legislation in the spring to legalize marijuana, but Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said that the current laws will stand until new legislation is ratified.

MORE National ARTICLES

Client Says Many Would Be Dead Without Medical Heroin At Vancouver Clinic

Client Says Many Would Be Dead Without Medical Heroin At Vancouver Clinic
VANCOUVER — The smell of rubbing alcohol permeates a tiny room where chronic heroin users inject a pharmaceutical-grade version of the drug three times a day to just feel normal.

Client Says Many Would Be Dead Without Medical Heroin At Vancouver Clinic

Vancouver Chef Siddharth Choudhary On 'Mission Report Card' For India's Assembly Polls

Vancouver Chef Siddharth Choudhary On 'Mission Report Card' For India's Assembly Polls
Vancouver-based NRI and chef Siddharth Choudhary is joining the poll fray with the idea of preparing report cards of elected leaders. 

Vancouver Chef Siddharth Choudhary On 'Mission Report Card' For India's Assembly Polls

15-Year-Old Charged After Toronto School Stabbing: Police

Toronto police have charged a 15-year-old boy after a 17-year-old boy was stabbed at a school in the city.

15-Year-Old Charged After Toronto School Stabbing: Police

Friend Of Man Accused Of Killing 13-Year-Old Girl Says He Was 'Always On The Run'

Friend Of Man Accused Of Killing 13-Year-Old Girl Says He Was 'Always On The Run'
WINNIPEG — A former friend of a Winnipeg man accused of killing a 13-year-old girl told court the accused sometimes disappeared for days at a time.

Friend Of Man Accused Of Killing 13-Year-Old Girl Says He Was 'Always On The Run'

Internationally Known Toronto Hairdresser Killed In Los Angeles, Police Say

Internationally Known Toronto Hairdresser Killed In Los Angeles, Police Say
LOS ANGELES — Police on Tuesday were investigating the killing of internationally known Toronto hairdresser and beauty company executive Fabio Sementilli, who was found beaten and stabbed at a Los Angeles home.

Internationally Known Toronto Hairdresser Killed In Los Angeles, Police Say

Targeted Shooting In Prince George, B.C., Kills Two Men, Injures Another

Targeted Shooting In Prince George, B.C., Kills Two Men, Injures Another
Two people are dead and another is in hospital with gunshot wounds following an early morning shooting in Prince George, B.C.

Targeted Shooting In Prince George, B.C., Kills Two Men, Injures Another