Raids across Ottawa!! Project wasted resources continues

VIANARCHRIS said:

Ottawa politicians applaud raids on marijuana dispensaries
Municipal politicians in Ottawa are applauding the closure of a string of marijuana dispensaries operating illegally across the city.

Police arrested nine people and raided seven pot shops this week after mounting complaints.

"I'm happy with the level of response that OPS has put in," said Jody Mitic. "We were kind of tightening the screws a little bit on the [police] chief."

The Innes Ward councillor said he believes the way marijuana dispensaries are currently operating poses a serious health risk.

"You can't just open up a shop and start selling grandpa's moonshine," said Mitic.

"They're bandits setting up shop in this manner. We needed to show the people that, despite some of the confusion and the grey zones in the law right now, we're still going to enforce what's right and wrong," he said.

"Once it's legal and there are rules in place...we'll collect the taxes off it [and] we'll know a gram of marijuana is actual marijuana."

'There were community concerns'

Rideau-Vanier Coun. Mathieu Fleury says the illegal dispensaries worry many people in his ward.

"There were community concerns. These operations do not have a legal supply chain so they were supporting criminal gangs."

Two marijuana shops in Fleury's ward were shut down Friday morning by police. One located at 290 Montreal Road and the other at 358 Rideau Street.

Fleury says he's not against the idea of dispensaries operating in the city, but they must do so legally, which is why he supported the raids.

"It's not a stance on users. It's not a stance on the legalization portion. It's really a stance on criminal gangs and criminal activity."

Almost two dozen dispensaries in the city

While they weren't any shops in his area closed down, River Ward Coun. Riley Brockington says he's happy direct action has been taken to close some of the facilities in the city.

"There are almost two dozen dispensaries in the city," said Brockington.

Brockington says he's gotten quite a few complaints about the dispensary in his community, specifically with regards to its location.

"It's across the street from a school, it's kitty-corner to a daycare, it's in a residential community. I do believe there are other appropriate areas for this location to operate."

Brockington says he wants some regulation around where marijuana shops are situated in the city because he doesn't want them to set up close to schools or other dispensaries.

"Ultimately, if it's not spelled out in federal legislation next year, municipalities will have to pass regulations on where it can and cannot operate. My big hope is to engage the public and dispensary owners on the appropriate location."

'A bit of a limbo period'

Mayor Jim Watson says right now is not a good time to get into the marijuana dispensary business.

"I believe it would be prudent on those people who want to open a pot dispensary not to do so because right now the federal government only allows the delivery of marijuana from certain registered spots around the country and they don't recognize these pot dispensaries because we don't know where the product comes from, how safe it is and we certainly don't want them showing up in neighbourhoods or next to schools," he said.

Watson is in support of the police's efforts to crack down on shops operating illegally.

"I appreciate the fact that the police have moved in on suspected illegal activity and it's now up to the courts to determine whether, in fact, there was illegal activity taking place in these pot shops," said the mayor.

"The reality is, we're in a bit of a limbo period because the federal government has announced that they're going to legalize the use of marijuana but we don't know what kinds of controls that are going to be put in place. And there have to be some quite strict controls so that people underage and so on are not accessing marijuana."

Neal Hanniman, who co-owns the Ottawa Cannabis Dispensary, said he was aware of the police's investigation of marijuana dispensaries in the city. He believes his shop avoided getting raided because of its adherence to a tight set of rules.

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WHATFG said:

Neal Hanniman, who co-owns the Ottawa Cannabis Dispensary, said he was aware of the police's investigation of marijuana dispensaries in the city. He believes his shopavoided getting raided because of its adherence to a tight set of rules.

cops picking and choosing again

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