Pubdate: Tue, 25 Oct 2016
Source: Ottawa Sun (CN ON)
Copyright: 2016 Canoe Limited Partnership
Contact: http://www.ottawasun.com/letter-to-editor
Website: http://www.ottawasun.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/329
Author: Jacquie Miller
Page: 6

LANDLORDS TOLD: EVICT POT SHOPS

Ottawa Police send warning letter

Ottawa police have warned landlords renting space to illegal marijuana
dispensaries that the businesses may face police action and the
properties could even be seized.

Letters have been served on 13 dispensary landlords warning them of
the consequences of allowing unlawful activities on their properties,
said Staff Sgt. Rick Carey of the drug unit.

"If your property continues to represent a threat to the health,
safety and security of the community, the Ottawa Police Service will
take action as authorized by the Criminal Code, the Controlled Drugs
and Substances Act and any other provincial statutes available," the
letter says.

Some landlords were shocked by the letters because they thought
dispensaries were legal, said Carey. Other landlords are consulting
their lawyers and checking their leases, he said.

The letter says landlords can contact police for "assistance with
respect to strategies which may be employed by you to reduce/cease the
unlawful activity associated with your property."

The letter also warns of possible referral to Ontario's Civil Remedies
for Illicit Activities Office, which can ask a court to seize a
property used to engage in illegal activity. In An employee looks at
the damage done to a CannaGreen marijuana dispensary after a truck was
driven into the front of the store earlier this month. The landlord
said he had no idea the operation would be selling marijuana. the
past, the civil forfeiture laws have been used to seize marijuana grow
ops, biker clubhouses and crack dens.

Ottawa police have been investigating the illegal dispensaries since
the first one opened almost a year ago. They have faced pressure from
several city councillors to shut them down. There are now at least 16
in town.

In Toronto, police have made sporadic raids against dispensaries since
last spring, laying charges of drug trafficking and profiting from the
proceeds of crime. Across Ontario, police have recently raided
dispensaries in Peel, Whitby, Peterborough, Oshawa, Waterloo, Barrie,
London, Hamilton and Alderville.

Ottawa police have said they are taking a "measured approach" because
of the complicated legal landscape and changing public attitudes
toward pot. The federal government has promised to legalize
recreational marijuana. Medical marijuana is already legal, but only
if sold by mail from producers licensed by Health Canada.

In the meantime, the laws against trafficking or possession of
marijuana remain on the books.

Several landlords said they unwittingly rented their property to the
illegal dispensaries.

The landlord of a CannaGreen dispensary on Roydon Place said he is
trying to get rid of his tenant who moved in last month. The landlord
said he was told by the real estate agent handling the lease that the
property had been rented to a "medical dispensary." He had no idea
marijuana would be sold. The landlord, who doesn't want to be named,
said he's asked police to raid the dispensary. His lawyer is advising
on eviction procedures.

Phap Lu, owner of a building on St. Joseph Boulevard in Orleans, said
he thought the CannaGreen dispensary that rented a storefront there
last month would be selling "medical marijuana to patients like
soldiers after the war."

He didn't realize the store was illegal until he got the police
letter.

"I ask the police, 'What should I do now?'"said Lu. "Why are you guys
not shutting it down if it's illegal?"

Parents whose children attend the taekwondo studio and Kumon tutoring
service in the same building have complained about the pot shop.

His lease with CannaGreen has a clause prohibiting illegal activities,
said Lu. Still, it would be expensive and difficult to break the
lease, he said.

"For us as business owners, we have to lease the property out, and we
have no proof to say, 'You're illegal.' "

He needs the $3,000 a month rent payment to cover the mortgage on the
building, said Lu.
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MAP posted-by: Matt