Pubdate: Wed, 19 Oct 2016
Source: Province, The (CN BC)
Copyright: 2016 Postmedia Network Inc.
Contact:  http://www.theprovince.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/476
Author: Nick Eagland
Page: 8

EAST VAN POT DISPENSARY ROBBED AT GUNPOINT

Employees of a Vancouver cannabis dispensary were left shaken
following a weekend armed robbery.

Just before 9 p.m. Sunday, four suspects robbed the Stressed and
Depressed Association dispensary at gunpoint, Vancouver police
spokesman Const. Jason Doucette said in an emailed statement.

Police attended the scene at 1353 E. 41st Ave. and collected evidence,
Doucette said. Stressed and Depressed has provided surveillance
recordings and an investigation continues.

Stressed and Depressed owner David Malmo-Levine said one employee had
a gun pointed at him and was punched in the head during the incident.
Police confirmed the assault and said the victim did not require
medical attention.

Malmo-Levine called the robbery a "devastating loss" and said "lots"
of cannabis, extracts and cash were taken.

Stressed and Depressed was also the target of ram raiders in May 2015,
just two months after it opened. Thieves drove a van through the
dispensary's front windows and took about $6,000 worth of product, a
manager told Postmedia at the time.

No arrests have been made in connection with that incident, Doucette
said. A Hastings Street dispensary was also hit that night.

Malmo-Levine said he is "very appreciative" of how police have treated
him and his staff following both incidents at his dispensary.

"The police were very nice and they were kind enough to provide a
victim counselling service phone number," he said. "Luckily enough we
have lots of relaxant on hand ... cannabis is a great medicine after
horrific things happen to you."

Malmo-Levine, a longtime Canadian cannabis activist, said he wanted to
warn dispensary operators to install silent alarms, security cameras
and door chimes to discourage and prevent robberies, as well as
barriers and bollards to prevent smash-and-grabs or ram raids.

He also said it's important dispensaries make frequent cash drops and
keep a minimal amount of product on hand.

"This (robbery) is just the result of selling something that's easy to
resell," he said. "Drug stores have to take all the precautions that
we take when they sell cigarettes."

There have been at least a half-dozen reports of dispensary robberies
in B.C. since early 2015, including a Surrey shop hit last month by a
suspect wielding a can of mace.

Health Canada is opposed to dispensaries, which are illegal under
current federal law, but the City of Vancouver adopted its own
regulations for medical cannabis businesses last year.

In a report to the Vancouver Police Board submitted September 2015,
Vancouver police said: "Using the criminal law to close marijuana
dispensaries is generally ineffective, raises concerns about
proportionality and is a significant drain on valuable police
resources that is difficult to justify in the absence of overt public
safety concerns."
- ---
MAP posted-by: Matt