Six medical marijuana dispensaries in Saint John have been raided by police and a dozen people have been arrested as a result.
The 12 people who were arrested were from the various dispensary locations and brought to the Saint John police department and are being charged with possession for the purpose of trafficking. They are going to be released to appear in court on May 2 of this year.
A dozen people were arrested after @saintjohn police raided six medical marijuana dispensaries in the city, Sgt. Chuck Breen says. pic.twitter.com/DhMymgRpCh
— Laura Lyall (@LauraLyall) January 24, 2017
The dispensaries that were raided include:
- Medicinal Grounds on Prince William Street and Rothesay Avenue
- BLW on Simpson Drive
- King Canna on Germain Street
- HBB Medical on Rothesay Road and Chesley Drive.
“They are set up by the owners for medicinal purposes, so they say,” says media relations officer Sergeant Chuck Breen. “However, the businesses are illegal. They don’t have licenses in order to sell, so subsequently they are trafficking in marijuana.”
As of early this afternoon, members of the police were still on the scene of the dispensaries collecting evidence and members of the media were told that a list of the seized items would be released on Wednesday.
Members of @saintjohnpolice still at dispensaries collecting evidence. Sgt. Breen tells media he plans to release list of seized items tmrw. pic.twitter.com/6y4Q9NcxOC
— Laura Lyall (@LauraLyall) January 24, 2017
We asked why now?
“I can’t say why now, all I know is that it was an ongoing investigation with our Street Crime unit,” says Sgt. Breen “It’s been conducted over a matter of a couple months I believe and this is just the culmination of their investigation.”
Sgt. Breen was also asked about the timeline of these cases given the impending legalization of marijuana.
“All we do is, we’ll do our investigation, we’ll present the files to the Crown, the Crown will review them and make whatever decisions they will make as to what will happen with them,” says Sgt. Breen. “We have no control over that or how long it would take to get before the courts.”
Statement from #SaintJohn Police Chief John Bates regarding the execution of search warrants at six #marijuana dispensaries in the city. pic.twitter.com/aLqSgQ5Cso
— Matt Mabee (@mattmabee7) January 24, 2017
