A dispensary in downtown Richmond Hill keeps popping up by different names. The business was initially closed in December, but it now appears to be active this month in the same plaza it was located before.
According to Detective Sargent Peter Casey of the York Regional Police, the police did speak with the operators last week and will keep investigating the situation. The store has previously gone by names such as Cannibliss, CannaClubs, and Sativa & Kush.
Detective Sargent Casey says that current laws simply do not allow a dispensary to operate. “At the end of the day, YRP is guided by laws that exist.”
While the police investigate, it is likely that these shops will continue to pop up across Ontario even though they are not technically legal. One person on social media commented that, “The police simply don’t have the resources to shut them down if the shops open the next day. It is civil disobedience in order to provide access to sick and dying people.”
In this particular case in Richmond Hill, one restaurant next door to this pop up has started to close for lunch because their customers apparently complained about the smell of cannabis nearby. There doesn’t seem to be much stopping similar pop-up operations from opening, even if they are closed, others will likely fill the void.