Four people are in custody after Halifax Regional Police raided three properties, including a medicinal marijuana shop, in connection with a drug trafficking investigation on Friday.
Officers seized several boxes from the Farm Assists Cannabis Resource Centre, which opened on Gottingen Street in July.
“We seized a large quantity of cash along with a large quantity of marijuana,” says Const. Pierre Bourdages of the Halifax Regional Police.
“A number of complaints were received by various levels of government and the police department that triggered an investigation which was ongoing for quite some time which led to the searches today.”
A 19-year-old man and a 40-year-old man were arrested at the scene without incident.
According to its website, Farm Assists is a vapour lounge that also provides medicinal marijuana.
The website says people over the age of 19 who have a licence to smoke medicinal marijuana can purchase products at the shop and smoke them in the back, using a vaporizer.
Storeowner Chris Enns has a licence to grow, use and supply medicinal marijuana, but Health Canada prohibits sales of medicinal marijuana through storefronts. Bourdages says selling marijuana at the store would be considered drug trafficking.
“There is no such licences available in Canada,” says Bourdages. “You cannot sell to medical users, so there is no such licences available to do that.”
Enns acknowledged during an interview with CTV News last month that his store could be raided at some point.
“I recognize that any moment in time I could find myself in jail until we get the chance to express that constitutional challenge before the authorities,” he said.
Officers also executed search warrants at two addresses in Head of Chezzetcook, including a home on East Chezzetcook Road and a property on Colford Road.
Police seized a quantity of marijuana and a large quantity of cash from the East Chezzetcook Road home. A 39-year-old man and a 47-year-old woman were arrested without incident.
“Another man and a woman were arrested at the Head of Chezzetcook in relation to the business as well,” says Bourdages.
Investigators say they found a large marijuana grow operation on Colford Drive and seized several hundred marijuana plants in various stages of growth. No one was arrested at the property.
Police say no charges have been laid at this time, but are anticipated.
With files from CTV Atlantic's Rick Grant