Eight people have been charged in connection to Thursday’s simultaneous raids on five illegal marijuana dispensaries in the city, London police said Friday.
Officers executed search warrants over the noon hour at Tasty Budd’s, Chronic Hub Social Club, Alternative Health, and at two Healing Health locations as part of an ongoing investigation police said began several weeks ago in response to community complaints and concerns.
During the raids, police said a total of $169,659 in controlled substances and approximately $3,220 in currency was seized from the five locations.
The identities of the eight accused have not been released. Police have only said they are men and women ranging in age from 23 to 55.
The raids came just two days after London police and city officials met with Liberal MP Bill Blair, Toronto’s former police chief, to discuss a regulatory framework for legalizing marijuana in Canada.
The Trudeau government has said it plans to table legislation this year aimed at legalizing and regulating marijuana, and Blair, in his current role as parliamentary secretary to the minister of justice, is tasked with promoting Ottawa’s plans. Police said the timing of Blair’s visit on Tuesday and the raids was coincidental.
Speaking at CFB Esquimalt in B.C. on Thursday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said regulating the sale of marijuana would protect young people and take money away from criminal gangs. But the government, he said, doesn’t plan to go any further than legalizing marijuana in legislation he hopes will be introduced by this summer.
In an interview with AM980’s Devon Peacock on Friday, activist Jodie Emery, dubbed Canada’s “Princess of Pot,” accused the Trudeau government of engaging in prohibitionist rhetoric.
“Saying that marijuana is dangerous, it’s a threat to the community and that they need to protect us from gangs and protect children from marijuana. These are the talking points we heard from the Harper government,” she said, adding that similar raids have happened in Brantford and Peterborough.
Emery said she was disappointed how the federal Liberals have handled the marijuana file since being elected, saying the government has “dropped the message” of re-prioritizing police spending and decriminalization.
“We’re seeing raids happening all across Canada, even in places where dispensaries have been allowed to operate,” she said. “But again, this is now signaling that the Liberal government does not intend to legalize the existing marijuana industry.”
Devon’s full interview with Emery can be heard below:
With files from Matthew Trevithick and The Canadian Press
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