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Island pot shops raided

UPDATE: 8:10 p.m.

The managers of two pot shops on Vancouver Island where police seized thousands of dollars worth of marijuana say the British Columbia government failed them by only approving one store in the province before legalization as raids were reported on both ends of the country.

The RCMP say they entered the Port Alberni Cannabis Club at around 11 a.m. Wednesday, before visiting Leaf Compassion Cannabis Dispensary around 2 p.m., and found both stores were open without provincial licences.

Police gave the store no warning in the weeks or days before the raid, said general manager Christine Jarvis, and she blamed the province for not approving her licence application in time for legalization on Wednesday.

"I feel violated. They had enough time to do this," she said, adding it's been three years since Prime Minister Justin Trudeau signalled his intention to legalize marijuana.

Eric Vesaranta, general manager of Leaf Compassion Cannabis Dispensary, said the Mounties left the store practically empty. He intends to dispute his $575 ticket.

"It's literally all the government's fault with not having applications ready on time," he said. "Everybody filled them out in time, but the government didn't give them back in time for legalization."

Officers seized cannabis products from both locations in Port Alberni, and issued the owners violation tickets for the unlawful sale of marijuana, the RCMP said in a statement.

"In accordance with the new legislation and regulations, cannabis is to be sold exclusively at government-run stores, licensed private retailers, and the B.C. government's online store," the statement said.

"While the legal recreational use of cannabis may be new, the enforcement of laws around the illegal production, distribution and consumption of cannabis is not."

Sgt. Janelle Shoihet said she was not aware of any other raids by the Mounties in British Columbia. The RCMP's national headquarters said it could not provide a response Thursday on whether there'd been other similar enforcement by the Mounties in other parts of Canada.


ORIGINAL: 2:05 p.m.

Police raided two illicit marijuana dispensaries on Vancouver Island shortly after cannabis became legal on Wednesday.

Port Alberni RCMP say both stores were open and operating without the required provincial licences.

An RCMP statement says officers seized an undisclosed amount of cannabis and weed products from both locations and issued the owners violation tickets for the unlawful sale of marijuana.

Under new legislation and regulations that came into effect Wednesday, cannabis is to be sold exclusively at government-run stores, licensed private retailers and the B.C. government's online store.

However, the province only has one licensed location at this point, a government-run store in Kamloops.

Earlier this week, Vancouver Chief Const. Adam Palmer, who is also president of the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police, said raids of unlicensed pot shops on Day 1 of legalization were "highly unlikely."



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