Montreal police confirmed 10 people were arrested in six raids at recently opened Cannabis Culture pot dispensaries Friday evening.
As of Saturday morning, 9 of the ten, including six men and four women between the ages of 18 and 58, had been released on promise to appear in court at a later date.
Montreal police spokesperson Daniel Lacoursière said the tenth person, later identified as Cannabis Culture owner, Marc Emery, refused to sign and remained in detention.
Emery appeared in court via video-conference Saturday afternoon and was charged with trafficking, possession for the purpose of trafficking and conspiracy, after money, equipment and 18 kg (40 pounds) of pot were seized during the raids.
He was released on $5,000 bail and must adhere to several conditions, including staying in his Ontario home, not communicating with the nine other accused without their lawyers present and not communicating with any Cannabis Culture employees.
He is also forbidden from consuming narcotics in Quebec without a prescription.
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Emery made his views clear during his arrest Friday.
“This arrest is wrong and prohibition is wrong. The prime minister is a disgrace and so is the mayor,” he said.
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Those sentiments were echoed by Emery’s wife and Cannabis Culture co-owner Jodie Emery on Twitter.
Jodie Emery told a news conference at one of the stores at Thursday’s opening that while they are illegal under current federal legislation, she hoped local authorities would leave them alone.
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The group now plans to protest the Montreal arrests although details of those protests have yet to be released.
Cannabis Culture was asking supporters to sign a petition, late Saturday afternoon,offering free joints to those who showed up at two Montreal locations.
Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre said police were doing their jobs by upholding the law when they launched the raids Friday.
He also said opening the Montreal pot stores was a pointless stunt, since Ottawa is expected to table legislation in the spring to legalize marijuana.
“What I don’t understand is, legalization of marijuana is going to happen, so why do this kind of stunt?” he told reporters at an unrelated event in Montreal.
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A federal task force recommended this week that sales be allowed to Canadians 18 years of age and older.
–With files from the Canadian Press
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