‘How can we compete?’: local cannabis stores upset as police do nothing to stop unregulated pot shops

As unregulated cannabis stores continue to be allowed to do business in Cambridge, local pot shops are furious over the lack of enforcement. 

Corry Van Iersel owns True North Cannabis in Cambridge and has had enough. 

One of his two stores is on King Street in Preston, just down the road from Sovereign Toke, a store that Van Iersel claims is putting local shops out of business. 

“We are a legally operating business here and our sales are down 25 per cent because of places like this,” said Van Iersel. “How can we compete when their products are stronger and cheaper than ours?”

For months Van Iersel has been petitioning Waterloo Regional Police Services to shut them down, but every time he gets met with the same answer, “we’re monitoring the situation.” 

Despite a magic mushroom store, ‘Fun Guyz’ selling illegal psilocybin just down the street and continually getting raided by vigilant police, over 10 times in the last eight months, the illegal cannabis store remains untouched. 

“I get it mushrooms are different from cannabis, but illegal is still illegal, so why haven’t they been raided,” asked Van Iersel. 

He tells a similar story with his stores in other municipalities as local police say they won’t shut them down. 

“I keep getting told that police won’t go in there, because they are waiting for case law from the province on Indigenous land issues,” he said. 

WRPS did not respond to multiple requests for comment on the situation. 

Van Iersel’s issue with the illegal stores is that they are taking money away from businesses like his that have gotten a license, set up special bank accounts and conform to strict regulations for staying in business. 

“It’s just completely unfair and the fact that they (police) claim to want to clamp down on the illegal market is a lie, because they are doing nothing.”

In Ontario, the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) regulates all of the cannabis stores that are operating legally. 

Raymond Kahnert from the AGCO’s communications team confirmed in an email to CambridgeToday that Sovereign Toke is operating without a license and should be shut down. 

While the AGCO’s focus is on the safe, responsible and lawful sale of cannabis, Kahnert said the AGCO does not have a compliance or enforcement role pertaining to stores selling cannabis without an AGCO license.

“We certainly strongly encourage Ontarians to shop at licensed cannabis retail stores to benefit from all the safeguards in place, including those related to verifiable quality of product and responsible sales,” added Kahnert. 

The AGCO also adds that additional questions about enforcement should be directed to WRPS. 

The Ontario Solicitor General’s office also confirmed that this store is operating illegally and cannabis shops off reservation lands must get approval from the First Nation’s Band Council.

“The only legal means of purchasing recreational cannabis off-reserve is through the online Ontario Cannabis Store (OCS) or through retail stores licensed by the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO). Storefronts without a licence obtained through the AGCO are operating illegally,” said Brent Ross, spokesperson for Ontario Solicitor General, Michael Kerzner. 

As the province cannot direct local police to enforce the law, Ross also noted that WRPS should be the next step for enforcement. 

In March 2024, an OPP-led coalition of police forces including WRPS and Toronto Police Services (TPS) were given $31 million over three years to crack down on these unregulated or “grey market” stores. 

Communications for TPS, Stephanie Sayer, said the police service has been working to close these shops, but on a complaint basis only.

“I can tell you that when a report is made to Toronto Police about an illegal dispensary, it is investigated and any decision to proceed with charges is based on the findings of that investigation,” wrote Sayer in an email to CambridgeToday. 

According to the employees of Sovereign Toke, police have yet to come in, raid them or seize any products. 

“If the cops came and shut us down it would open up a can of worms they aren’t ready for,” said Cody Walker, an employee at Sovereign Toke in an an interview for a previous story in CambridgeToday.

“If they were to take us to court, it would be the first time the six miles was tested and if they lost they would have to move everyone past the boundary. It would be a mess,” he said. 

Walker said the cannabis shop is Indigenously owned and operates on Indigenous land as recognized by the Haldimand Tract Treaty. The agreement says six miles (9 km) on either side of the Grand River is Six Nations land. 

The unregulated stores are able to sell any products they want without the restrictions of the AGCO. This means their edible products can surpass the legal limit of 10 mg of THC per package. 

Some of the individual gummies at Sovereign Toke have up to 400 mg of THC with some packages having 30 times the legal limit with 3,000 mg. 

This is something that public health would strongly recommend not consuming as it could increase the risk of cannabis poisoning or “greening out.” 

“Unregulated cannabis products may contain dangerously high amounts of THC and may be contaminated with other products,” said Gina Alderman, communications for Waterloo Region Public Health. 

Alderman references the Canadian government’s guidelines for cannabis use, noting that consuming high amounts of THC, especially in first-time users can lead to an elevated risk of panic attacks, cognitive, psychomotor and memory impairments, hallucinations and impaired perception. 

Van Iersel said that all of these organizations and governing bodies keep passing the buck, but it ultimately stops at WRPS. 

“Everybody is pointing the fingers and it’s up to the individual police departments and what they do. It’s the Waterloo Regional Police that are dropping the ball and choosing not to do anything about it,” he said. 

“We are losing business over here because of this. Stores are shutting down and leaving the business because the black market sales are not being treated as a priority.” 

All Van Iersel wants to see is a levelled playing field, whether that is with fewer restrictions and cheaper prices by the AGCO or the province crackdown on the illegal pot shops. 

“The government put this system in place for the legal system. So let’s run with the legal system. Why are they allowing blatantly obvious stores that are not legal to open up it’s unreal. Imagine if this was a beer or liquor store, they would be shut down in a second.”