A second unlicensed pot shop has popped up in London, this time on Richmond Row.
By Dale Carruthers | London Free Press | Dec 22, 2022
Sewatohwat Cannabis recently opened at 430 Richmond St., just north of Dundas Street, without approval from the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario, the province’s pot regulator.
“The store is operated by sovereign people on sovereign land,” says a sign on the business “We are exercising our constitutional and inherent rights.”
The owner didn’t respond to an interview request.
But the downtown business appears to be following the playbook of Spirit River Cannabis owner Maurice French, who says he’s exercising his treaty rights to open a “medicinal cannabis trading post” on traditional land of the Chippewa Nation, according to a letter sent to city and police officials.
French opened the 24-hour dispensary out of a trailer at 72 Wellington St., north of Grand Avenue, last month, marking the first time an unsanctioned pot shop has opened in London since police cracked down on the businesses after Canada legalized recreational marijuana in October 2018.
A London police spokesperson declined to comment on Sewatohwat Cannabis, saying the AGCO and the OPP-led joint forces cannabis enforcement team are responsible for investigating unlicensed pot shops.
A spokesperson for the cannabis enforcement team – made up of police officers from nearly a dozen forces across Ontario – didn’t respond to a request for comment Thursday.
There are around 1,500 licensed cannabis retail stores in Ontario, including around 50 in London, that must abide by strict rules set by the AGCO on everything from hours of operation to advertising. The businesses have to buy their products from the Ontario Cannabis Store, the government-run marijuana wholesaler and online delivery service.
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