Advertisement

City of Penticton taking unlicensed pot shop to court

Click to play video: 'City of Penticton takes pot shop to court'
City of Penticton takes pot shop to court
City of Penticton takes pot shop to court – Apr 27, 2017

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.

Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day.

Get daily National news

Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day.
By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.

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.

Story continues below advertisement

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

Sponsored content

AdChoices