The City of Penticton is taking marijuana dispensary Herbal Green Apothecary to court to try and close the pot shop for good.
READ MORE: Defiant Penticton pot shop owner refuses to close despite city order
“This business has been repeatedly fined for operating without a temporary use permit and the City is now moving on to the next step in enforcement which is injunctive action,” they city’s director of development services Anthony Haddad said in a news release.
Owner Jukka Laurio said he closed his store after he received a cease and desist order from RCMP at the end of March, but that he did reopen for 4/20.
READ MORE: Penticton pot shop bows to RCMP pressure, closes
The city said it didn’t push for police to get involved in the situation.
It’s unclear if the store opened on other occasions or if it is still selling marijuana products now.
READ MORE: Marijuana dispensaries in Penticton granted temporary permits
The city approved two six-month temporary permits to a pair of marijuana dispensaries in January. Jukka Laurio’s Herbal Green Apothecary was not one of them. The city said all of the pot shops that weren’t granted the licence have now closed, except Laurio’s.
“I was the first one open. I have no intention of closing,” Laurio said in a Global News interview in January.
At that time Laurio threatened to sue the city for not granting him a license. There are no court records of Laurio filing a lawsuit.
The city officially filed a petition to the Supreme Court on Monday. It claims since March 21, 2016 until the present, Laurio has continued to operate without the required license.
As part of the petition, the city is also seeking reimbursement for its legal costs.
-with files from Shelby Thom
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