The Vancouver Police Department executed a warrant on Weeds Glass and Gifts, located at 2916 West Fourth Ave, April 29.
The investigation started in March due to public safety concerns, including a 15-year-old being hospitalized after allegedly buying edible products from the store, as well as other incidents involving young people, according to a VDP press release.
“Customers and staff at the store were identified and released pending further investigation. Our priority remains focusing on violent drug traffickers and those who prey on youth and the marginalized in our community,” the press release states. “However, these shops are all illegal and the VPD will continue to respond to concerns and take incremental steps to decide if further investigation or enforcement action is required. Officers have the ability to use their discretion and ensure that any police response is proportionate to the circumstances involved.”
The police say nine warrants have been executed on marijuana dispensaries over the past 18 months.
The latest action comes in the same week that city council first looked at proposed regulations for Vancouver’s growing number of unregulated and unlicensed marijuana dispensaries. Vancouver would become the first municipality in Canada to regulate pot stores, which the federal government maintains are involved in illegal activity. City manager Penny Ballem told council Tuesday an estimated 85 stores operate in Vancouver.
Following Tuesday’s council meeting, Supt. Mike Porteous, who oversees the Vancouver Police Department’s major crime section, told council the VPD does indeed monitor and intervene in marijuana dispensaries despite public perception to the contrary. “If it’s aggravated or it’s not in the public interest, or there’s a level of danger or organized crime or risk to children, we will do enforcement,” he said.
A public hearing for the city’s proposed regulations is expected to being at the end of May or early June. If council supports the regulations, it would then open up an application process for potential operators, who would undergo a detailed review before being granted a business licence.
