Trees Dispensary general manager Travis Lane has said he will respect the order made by the RCMP to shut down his dispensary after about a year in business in Nanaimo.
“It’s out of respect for the police and law enforcement,” said Lane. “As a retail business, you can’t stay open without the help of law enforcement for security. So we decided to close our doors and pull our products for a few days.”
Lane said he thinks the dispensary’s closure will hurt employees and patients and hopes to open again in the future.
The majority of dispensaries in the city have chosen to ignore the letter received from police requesting they close or face enforcement action.
“We want to comply with law enforcement. We want to be a part of this community. We want everybody to work together. We want this to be recognized this as a legitimate industry,” said Lane.
Remaining dispensaries have formed a coalition that they hope will help delay police raids to shut down their businesses until other levels of government can weigh in on marijuana legalization.