Peterborough police have issued a warrant for the arrest of Richard Standen, the owner of local dispensary Cannabis Culture.
“On September 29, 2016 the Peterborough Police Service’s Drug Unit executed a Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (CDSA) search warrant at a Peterborough hotel where the accused was renting a room,” police said, in a statement. “As a result of the search warrant an amount of marijuana and marijuana-related products were located and seized.”
Standen faces charges of cannabis possession for the purpose of trafficking and two counts of breach of recognizance.
Since opening, the Cannabis Culture location has been raided twice by police, with the first raid on Sept. 15 resulting in an initial arrest for Standen.
The second raid, last week, saw staff members Maranda Gallant and Erick Woolsey arrested and charged. The pair were released on bail, yesterday.
Police have been direct in their message – they will continue with action against the shop until it closes for good.
“The Peterborough Police Service reminds property owners of their jeopardy, including forfeiture of the property itself, if they knowingly allow lease of their property for illegal activity,” local police said. “Under current marijuana laws, the role of our Police Service remains enforcement of the current law. Those who breach those laws can be charged with criminal offences under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act.”
Cannabis Culture has organized a protest against the raids for this Thursday.
“Holding the rally on this day seems like our best option as we’ll be able to show our numbers to the councillors, so they know we are for real,” wrote organizer Eamon Cyr, on Facebook.