Halifax Regional Police are investigating a suspicious fire that damaged a marijuana dispensary Thursday morning.

Police and fire crews responded to Greenhouse Wellness in the 3400 block of Dutch Village Road around 7 a.m.

Dave Slaunwhite, the district chief for Halifax Regional Fire and Emergency, says the fire was on the first floor of the building and crews were able to knock it down quickly.

Slaunwhite says the building sustained some damage, but it wasn’t extensive.

No one was injured.

The fire department says they found evidence outside the building that leads them to believe it's suspicious.

“The evidence looked as if the fire started outside at the back of the building and extended inside,” said Halifax Fire and Emergency Deputy Chief Roy Hollett.

Dutch Village Road was closed from Rosedale Avenue to Joseph Howe Drive while crews battled the blaze. It reopened to traffic around 8:30 a.m.

Police say they aren't sure if the dispensary was operational before it was damaged, but fire crews say they could smell marijuana as they were fighting the flames.

“The odor of burning cannabis was quite noticeable, especially upwind where we were for a while and then we moved because it was quite noticeable. We do think that it was cannabis in the building that was burning as well.”

The fire means there is now one less dispensary operating in the municipality.

Since cannabis became legal on Oct. 17, half the dispensaries in the city have shut down.

Dispensaries have always been illegal, but police plan to eventually shut them all down.

“Our message is if you're operating an illegal dispensary we might not pay you a visit today but we will be paying you a visit,” Halifax Regional Police Supt. Jim Perrin told CTV’s Steve Murphy in an exclusive interview on Wednesday.

With fewer options...more people are now turning to the NSLC to purchase cannabis.

“I made the switch mostly because the dispensaries I went to got shut down,” said Ben Plude. “So, instead of looking around for anything else, I just figured I would go to the one that is more legal.”

With files from CTV Atlantic’s Natasha Pace.