Halifax police continue crackdown on illegal cannabis dispensaries
Police charge 10 people in two busts last week in Fairview and Dartmouth
Halifax police are continuing to shut down illegal cannabis dispensaries, with the most recent busts in Fairview and Dartmouth's Main Street.
In a news release Monday, police said officers searched Doug's Place on Alma Crescent last Thursday, seizing 1.3 kilograms of cannabis, about 300 cannabis products and $900 in cash.
They arrested a 23-year-old Sackville man and charged him with possession of cannabis for the purpose of distributing, possession of cannabis for the purpose of selling and obstructing police.
On Friday, police went to the Atlantic Compassion Club Society on Main Street where they seized about $7,000 in cash, 2.2 kilograms of cannabis and about 2,500 other cannabis products.
Nine people were charged in that bust, three women and six men, ranging in ages from 21-51.
They were all charged with possession of cannabis for the purpose of distributing and possession of cannabis for the purpose of selling.
The suspects are scheduled to appear in provincial court at a later date.
Past arrests
There were sporadic search and seizures at cannabis dispensaries in the Halifax area as the Oct. 17 date for recreational pot legalization got closer. The Nova Scotia Liquor Corp. is now the only legal seller of cannabis in the province.
A few days before the legalization, police went to Chronic Releaf Medical Dispensary on Quinpool Road and Canna Clinic on Dresden Row where they seized marijuana, edibles and cash. Ten people were arrested in that bust.
Police warned dispensaries that a crackdown was coming.
In November, three people were arrested and charged with cannabis-related offences at the GreenTree dispensary on the Bedford Highway. Police seized three kilograms of cannabis, cannabis resin, 360 cannabis edibles and a knife.