Pot shop owner wants City of Toronto to crack down on illegal dispensary next door
CBC
A licensed cannabis dispenser wants the city to do more to weed out illegal pot shops like the one that's operating openly just two doors down from his place.
"The City of Toronto needs to take some action," said a frustrated Levon Kostanyan Thursday while standing in front of Lagoo, his newly-minted cannabis store on Harbord Street west of the city's downtown core.
"There is a legal store that has all the licences that has all the products that are meeting Health Canada regulations. And there is a store next door that doesn't have any licence .. .and it's operating fully. It's affecting my daily sales."
But Carleton Grant, executive director of the city's municipal licensing and standards division, insists city hall is doing everything it can to crack down on the controversial CAFE chain of pot shops, one of which neighbours Lagoo.
"We're aware of CAFE and their operations," Grant said. "We've been working to close them down for the last number of years."
City staff told CBC Toronto CAFE, which stands for Cannabis and Fine Edibles, is facing three charges under the Ontario Cannabis Control Act laid by bylaw enforcement officers — one each in 2018, 2019 and 2020, all of which are still before the courts.
"We're waiting for that court process to take place to deal with them accordingly," Grant said.
Math is not Berry Genge's strongest subject, but she credits her desire to solve problems and her interest in how things work for making her want to study engineering. The fourth-year UPEI student was one of 10 chosen in Canada this spring to become 3M National Student Fellows. The honour, administered by the Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education (STLHE), recognizes students who demonstrate leadership qualities both on and off campus.