Pubdate: Fri, 03 May 2013
Source: Winnipeg Free Press (CN MB)
Copyright: 2013 Winnipeg Free Press
Contact: http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/send_a_letter
Website: http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/502
Author: Mike McIntyre
Page: B2

HEAD SHOPS RAIDED IN SECRET OPERATION

The future of three controversial Winnipeg head shops is hazy 
following a series of police raids and seizures linked to an ongoing 
investigation.

At least two people were taken into custody Wednesday as the RCMP and 
Winnipeg police executed search warrants at The Joint locations on 
St. Mary's Road, Pembina Highway and Marion Street. Police also 
backed a U-Haul truck up to the locations and appeared to remove 
numerous items from inside.

No details on the operation have been released publicly. An RCMP 
spokesperson said they will likely be more forthcoming Thursday. 
Winnipeg police said they were assisting the Mounties and declined to comment.

Sources told the Free Press the case largely involves product 
copyright and licensing issues. Canada Revenue Agency officials are 
also involved.

According to their website, The Joint has a new location in Saskatoon 
in addition to the three Winnipeg stores.

Their slogan is "The Dopest Headshop on the Prairies" and they boast 
of carrying "a wide range of smoking paraphernalia including but not 
limited to bongs, pipes, bubblers, Winnipeg's largest selection of 
poppers and bluntarillos, vaporizers, bowls, grinders, scales, 
baggies, stash containers, detox kits, hookahs and more."

Wednesday's police presence will no doubt be welcomed by the head 
shops' neighbours.

"It downgrades the community. When they're smoking pot, the smell 
wafts over to us and gives us headaches," said Brian Tavares, the 
assistant manager of Herat Foods next to the Pembina head shop.

In addition to the constant smell, he said customers of his halal 
grocery store have frequently complained about being subjected to 
racist taunts from The Joint's staff and customers.

"They call us terrorists," he said Wednesday. "We have a lot of 
families, a lot of elderly customers. This is clearly not beneficial 
to the community."

The city has taken aim at head shops in recent years, mandating that 
anyone who operates such a business must apply for a licence and go 
through a public-hearing process. The policy does not ban pipes, 
bongs, papers or any stores that sell them.

The intention is to slow or prevent the proliferation of head shops, 
especially in the suburbs, where they act as "harbingers of decay," 
St. Vital Coun. Gord Steeves, the chairman of council's property 
committee, said in 2010 when the issue was first raised.

"This has nothing to do with city council passing judgment on 
people's choices. The problem that exists is the stores themselves," 
Steeves said.

Bart Stras, co-owner of The Joint, told the Free Press at the time 
there was no need for increased scrutiny of his type of business.

"The whole scope of that is absolutely ridiculous," he said. "It's 
our government trying to have a little too much control. I don't 
understand why they want to spend valuable money trying to regulate 
our industry, which isn't really that big in Winnipeg in the first 
place. They're really blowing something out of proportion that isn't 
even there."

Stras couldn't be reached for comment Wednesday.

There are about eight head shops in Winnipeg and about a half-dozen 
stores where marijuana paraphernalia sales are part of the business.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom