Police have made use of new powers under Ontario's cannabis legislation to shut down three more pot shops in Hamilton.
Officers with the Provincial Joint Forces Cannabis Enforcement Team raided three locations of MMJ Canada on Wednesday.
While the raids continue to chip away at Hamilton's persistent black market, some say the MMJ busts will leaves medicinal users in the lurch.
"I've had a huge outcry from patients," said Adam Oldfield, who founded Medicinal My Way to fight for better access to medicinal cannabis.
Oldfield argues police are wrong to lump illegal recreational pot shops with vendors like MMJ, citing an August 2017 Superior Court ruling that allowed a King Street East dispensary to continue selling weed products to medicinal customers.
Hamilton police have said they'll "continue to apply and enforce the law as it currently stands," referring to provincial legislation.
Ahead of national legalization of recreational weed in October, many illegal pot shops in Hamilton threw in the towel in hopes of reopening with government-issued licences. But MMJ Canada and other holdouts have stayed open despite a ramped-up police campaign to stamp them out as Ontario prepares for its first 25 government-licensed pot shops in April.
The joint forces team, which includes three Hamilton officers, is using new powers under the Ontario Provincial Cannabis Control Act to seize buildings and prevent businesses from reopening.
On Wednesday, police could be seen at MMJ locations on George Street in Hess Village, Queenston Road near the Red Hill Valley Parkway and Ottawa Street North.
Hamilton police media officer Const. Lorraine Edwards noted search warrants had been issued for three MMJ shops but said she couldn't share more details.
A police notice on a fourth MMJ on Stone Church Road East near Nebo Road said it had been closed under the Cannabis Act as well, but it's not clear when.
At one point, more than 80 rogue dispensaries operated in Hamilton, but in early March, police said the number had been reduced to 14.
While officers milled about MMJ on Ottawa North, a few blocks east on Kenilworth Avenue, a 24-hour dispensary sold weed without hindrance.
"Every day, they get different product," said customer Mark Janssen, offering one reason why black market vendors will remain attractive.
As police bust storefronts, vendors are resorting to temporary "pop-up" shops and delivery-based sales, he noted. Old-school dealers still get business, he added, citing supply and demand. That's not to say Janssen, 43, won't check out government-licensed retailers. "I will always support the legal ones."
Officers with the Provincial Joint Forces Cannabis Enforcement Team raided three locations of MMJ Canada on Wednesday.
While the raids continue to chip away at Hamilton's persistent black market, some say the MMJ busts will leaves medicinal users in the lurch.
"I've had a huge outcry from patients," said Adam Oldfield, who founded Medicinal My Way to fight for better access to medicinal cannabis.
Oldfield argues police are wrong to lump illegal recreational pot shops with vendors like MMJ, citing an August 2017 Superior Court ruling that allowed a King Street East dispensary to continue selling weed products to medicinal customers.
Hamilton police have said they'll "continue to apply and enforce the law as it currently stands," referring to provincial legislation.
Ahead of national legalization of recreational weed in October, many illegal pot shops in Hamilton threw in the towel in hopes of reopening with government-issued licences. But MMJ Canada and other holdouts have stayed open despite a ramped-up police campaign to stamp them out as Ontario prepares for its first 25 government-licensed pot shops in April.
The joint forces team, which includes three Hamilton officers, is using new powers under the Ontario Provincial Cannabis Control Act to seize buildings and prevent businesses from reopening.
On Wednesday, police could be seen at MMJ locations on George Street in Hess Village, Queenston Road near the Red Hill Valley Parkway and Ottawa Street North.
Hamilton police media officer Const. Lorraine Edwards noted search warrants had been issued for three MMJ shops but said she couldn't share more details.
A police notice on a fourth MMJ on Stone Church Road East near Nebo Road said it had been closed under the Cannabis Act as well, but it's not clear when.
At one point, more than 80 rogue dispensaries operated in Hamilton, but in early March, police said the number had been reduced to 14.
While officers milled about MMJ on Ottawa North, a few blocks east on Kenilworth Avenue, a 24-hour dispensary sold weed without hindrance.
"Every day, they get different product," said customer Mark Janssen, offering one reason why black market vendors will remain attractive.
As police bust storefronts, vendors are resorting to temporary "pop-up" shops and delivery-based sales, he noted. Old-school dealers still get business, he added, citing supply and demand. That's not to say Janssen, 43, won't check out government-licensed retailers. "I will always support the legal ones."