Pubdate: Sat, 11 Mar 2017
Source: Kingston Whig-Standard (CN ON)
Copyright: 2017 Sun Media
Contact: http://www.thewhig.com/letters
Website: http://www.thewhig.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/224
Author: Steph Crosier
Page: A1

SIX WORKERS ARRESTED IN MARIJUANA DISPENSARY RAID

A downtown marijuana dispensary that opened earlier this week was
raided by Kingston Police on Thursday night.

Sgt. Brad Brooker of the police's street crime unit said the
investigation into CannaGreen started on Thursday and a Controlled
Substances Act search warrant was executed at approximately 9:30 p.m.

Six employees were arrested at the scene: four currently live in
Kingston and two hail from Ottawa. All are facing charges from police.
Three customers filling out paperwork in the store were also present
when the unit arrived, but were released.

Brooker said a large amount of marijuana, consumables, paraphernalia,
edibles and $3,500 in cash were all seized from the 342 Princess St.
location. Five street crime officers were involved in the raid and
they were supported by the patrol unit. Officers were in the store
until about 2 a.m. collecting evidence and exhibits. On Friday
morning, members of the media were invited to view the seized items
and cash.

"A lot of the jars were labelled with different strains of what was
allegedly marijuana and were displayed within a glass case and
appeared to be for sale," Brooker said. "A lot of the items here are
edibles: this rice crispy square, which would contain THC. There were
quite a few drinks, they're labelled to contain THC.

"What I found significant was that at the front [of the store] was a
small amount of shatter. Shatter is a very potent form of THC that has
to be, basically, homemade through a process of pouring butane through
marijuana and cooking it. The residual is very potent THC."

Three women and three men have all been charged by police with
possession with the purpose of trafficking of marijuana and possession
of proceeds obtained by crime. One individual from Kingston and
another from Ottawa are facing additional charges from police.

Four of the arrested were released on a promises to appear in court at
a later date and two attended bail court on Friday.

"Really, this investigation just started," Brooker said. "The work
starts now and there's more to do. There will be followup on this
investigation and any others that come up."

Kingston Police Chief Gilles Larochelle said storefront, "socalled
medical marijuana dispensaries" won't be tolerated in Kingston as long
as they are illegal.

"To be clear, medical marijuana can only be obtained through
registered post after being prescribed by a medical doctor,"
Larochelle said. "The federal government is working on legislation to
legalize marijuana, but, like any legislation, it takes time. In the
meantime, we're not going to permit these storefronts to operate
legally, first without a permit or any process in place.

"We will continue to monitor them, and as soon as information comes
in, we have our team working on them."
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