British Columbia

Police shut down Langford pot shop day after it opens

West Shore RCMP officers seized marijuana at the store in the municipality outside Victoria on Tuesday.

Municipality says marijunana stores not welcome until law changes

West Shore RCMP shut down the new Green Tree Medical Dispensary on Tuesday. (CHEK News)

​Langford's first marijuana dispensary has been shut down by police just a day after opening.

Green Tree Medical Dispensary opened a location on Monday on Granderson Road in the municipality near Victoria. 

On Tuesday, West Shore RCMP officers moved in and seized marijuana at the store.

"There is no legal mechanism in Canada which allows for 'medicinal marijuana dispensaries' or 'compassion clubs' to sell marijuana to the public," said West Shore RCMP Const. Alex Berube in a release

Police have not said if anyone was arrested.

Langford Mayor Stew Young says the municipality has also been clear that it won't tolerate marijuana dispensaries until federal laws change.

"This is not a legitimate business right now, and unfortunately it's not legitimate not because of Langford, not because of the regional district or wherever. It's because of the federal government's inaction," he said.

The first marijuana dispensary in Langford was only open for a day before West Shore RCMP seized its products. (CHEK News)

"We're not saying we won't do this in the future. What I'm saying is somebody better, at the federal level, take a look at this thing and maybe speed this thing up a little bit to make our job a little easier."

The federal government has pledged to introduce new legislation that will legalize marijuana in 2017.

In nearby Victoria close to 40 marijuana dispensaries continue to operate with little enforcement by police.

Victoria City Council moved to regulate the industry last year in response to the proliferation of storefronts. It's currently working towards issuing business licenses for operations that meet the new rules.

However, marijuana shops in some other B.C. municipalities have also been shut down by police in recent months.

Green Tree also operates other locations on Vancouver Island in Duncan and Shawnigan Lake.

With files from CHEK News