Port Alberni made national news yesterday, after being one of the only places in Canada where police raided cannabis stores.
As you first heard on The PEAK, police seized thousands of dollars worth of marijuana at the Port Alberni Cannabis Club and the Leaf Compassion Cannabis Dispensary on Wednesday.
The managers say the provincial government failed them by only approving one store in the province before legalization.
Eric Vesaranta, general manager of Leaf, says the Mounties left the store practically empty.
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.” He said police would take a “common-sense, pragmatic approach.”
Port Alberni RCMP released a statement saying the stores were open and operating without the required provincial licences.
According to CBC News, a similar raid happened in St. John’s Nfld. on the 17th.