Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson said he will be meeting with Vancouver police (VPD) chief Adam Palmer this week after officers raided a pop-up marijuana kiosk that supplies drug users with pot as a substitute for opiates that may be laced with fentanyl.
It happened Friday morning at the Downtown Eastside market at 62 East Hastings Street.
Free marijuana is distributed through the cannabis replacement program by High Hopes Foundation.
In a series of tweets, founder Sara Blyth wonders why officers targeted the kiosk when fentanyl dealers were in sight.
“They took our medicine away,” Blyth said.
But mayor Gregor Robertson, who is also chair of the police board said there’s two sides to the story.
“I think they had real concerns of what is going on in an unmanned table, what drugs were freely available to anyone who walked by and they weighed in on that, but we need to hear all sides of the story.”
Robertson believes police are likely worried the soon to be legal drug would end up in the hands of the wrong people.
“I have to leave that with the chief and VPD team to give their explanation of why they did that, I think the bottom line is public safety.”
Robertson said he has heard concerns from many in the Downtown Eastside community.
Premier John Horgan said the VPD is accountable for their own actions.
“We’re going to work closely with law enforcement to make sure we meet our mutual objectives, and that’s to make sure fewer people are dying,” Horgan said.
Blyth has since moved locations but said she will continue to provide people with marijuana who want to use it as a substitute for opiates.