Toronto dispensary Good Weeds reopened on Friday night after being raided by police the evening before.
Co-owner Don Briere said his business partners and operators of the store, Erin and Chris Goodwin, are now out on bail but court orders restrict them from having any contact with Good Weeds.
“The staff reopened and they opened the next day,” said Briere. “So it’s up and functioning again and operational.”
Briere said, after the raid, the business is now operating solely as a vapour lounge, with no sales at the location itself.
“They’re just bring your own,” said Briere. “So you just go to a dispensary, pick up your stuff and then come in and smoke it — the way they were running it before.”
The Goodwins have been charged with several marijuana offences including possession for the purpose of trafficking and possession of the proceeds of crime.
Toronto police said they received complaints about the store, causing them to deviate from their previous stance of largely ignoring the city’s cannabis related businesses to focus on other priorities, similar to Vancouver authorities’ approach.
Toronto councillor Joe Cressy told The Globe and Mail that, unlike the western city, Toronto has no plans to attempt to regulate its booming dispensary industry at a municipal level.
“For the city of Toronto to establish its own bylaws that could become moot in a matter of months after they’ve been put in place is not the prudent and responsible way to proceed,” said Cressy.
Briere said the Goodwins will be attending a bail review hearing in the near future to attempt to regain access to their store.
Watch last week’s episode of Cannabis in Canada LIVE to see Briere speak in more detail about the raid.