As police and city officials raid another weed dispensary operating outside the law, prospective customers have just one question: “Why?”

“Another one?”

A steady stream of exasperated, would-be customers standing on the sunlit sidewalk outside the Toronto Leaf Dispensary on Queen St. E. and Jarvis St. on Friday afternoon share a common refrain.

Just after 1 p.m., uniformed police officers and the city’s by-law enforcement officers walked up to the frosted glass door of the as-yet-illegal weed dispensary for a second go at raiding it.

– Read the entire article at The Star.

CANNABIS CULTURE – They arrest our staff and leaders. They raid our stores and lounges to steal and destroy our property. They try to kill what our company represents and erase our existence – but no army, politician or police force can stop an idea whose time has come.

I am sad to announce that all of our Cannabis Culture locations in Toronto and Hamilton have been forced to close their doors. Unfortunately, repeated raids, arrests, and threats to our landlords by authorities in Ontario have made it impossible for us to remain there until the laws have changed.

However, all of our Cannabis Culture stores outside of Toronto and Hamilton remain open for business! See the complete list of Cannabis Culture locations for more info.

The arrest of Jodie Emery – Cannabis Culture’s Chief Executive Officer – and the rest of the CC Five has been a hard hit for us. Jodie and Marc have been forced to remove themselves from the company due to restrictive bail conditions set by the Toronto police.

Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, despite his promise to reform our cannabis laws, continues to destroy the lives of our citizens by waging an unscientific and disastrous drug war. Alarmingly, the government has promised to increase criminal enforcement of marijuana restrictions even after “legalization” .

Cannabis Culture lives on and will maintain our quest for real marijuana legalization.

We will continue to stand up and fight for the decriminalization of our cannabis community at home and abroad – a peaceful community that has existed internationally for decades, flourishing in business and culture despite the risk of stigmatization and imprisonment.

We will likewise continue to speak out against increasing attempts to hijack and monopolize the budding legal cannabis industry and lobbying efforts by stock market marijuana companies to criminalize their competitors.

Activists and medical patients have fought for years to reform draconian drug laws, and have made major gains by winning cases and overturning bad laws in the Canadian courts. Canada’s Licensed Marijuana Producers now profit heavily thanks to the work activists have done for years in opening the doors to reform. Sadly, many of these companies seek to close the door behind them now that they have made it through the regulatory crack.

Started by Prince of Pot Marc Emery over 20 years ago, Cannabis Culture has engaged in civil disobedience by breaking unjust laws and setting an example of what real, all-inclusive cannabis legalization should look like at our head shops, lounges and dispensaries – and we won’t stop until peaceful pot-lovers are truly free.

The staff of Cannabis Culture and Pot TV appreciate your continued support of our activist-run businesses.

See you at CC!