Charges plummet for illicit cannabis sales, to the dismay of legal retailers

Some city police cannabis law enforcement statistics have fallen nearly 100 per cent since recreational legalization of the drug took effect, according to numbers collected by the CPS.

At the same time, legal cannabis retailers are calling for governments to crack down on, at a minimum, the most visible illicit competition — a plethora of black marketers who blatantly sell cannabis products online.

In the six months from last October through March 2019, city police recorded 20 instances involving cannabis where the drug offence was the most serious part of the incident.

The seven such incidents occurring in the first three months of this year represent a number 94 per cent below the five-year average for such offences.

In contrast, incidents involving crystal meth during that time period hit 170, or 163 per cent more than the five-year average.

Nobody in the CPS was available to immediately comment, but last February, Staff Sgt. Kyle Grant of the service’s drug unit told Postmedia the service is still targeting cannabis offenders, including local online dealers.

However, some of those in the legal cannabis sector say they’d hoped police forces would have taken more decisive action against those openly flouting the law online and undercutting their considerable investment.

“It’s a massive thing and we want to work to address this,” said Michelle Russell of the Alberta Cannabis Council (ACC) which represents retailers and licensed producers.

She noted legal retailers in Alberta are forbidden from operating online, while their illicit counterparts do so openly on professionally created websites that look legitimate.

“You have an illicit black market operating online — our retailers would need to do that to compete,” said Russell.

Retailer Nathan Mison said it’ll likely take three levels of government to seriously reduce the amount of overt black market cannabis dealers.

“Our hopes would be they’d crack down on some of the illegal players online,” said Mison, who sits on the ACC board. “It was definitely our hope.”

One illicit seller said his business in the city has never been better.

“Things have picked up a lot,” said Greg, who operates a web-based dial-a-dope business known as Medi Man.

“The website’s rolling, there’s been really big growth. It’s ridiculous, it won’t settle down.”

There’s not much likelihood of a crackdown by government agencies that don’t see much of a return in it, said Greg, who added police have been in contact with him in the past.

“They’re not going to cost taxpayers money and court time,” he said.

Greg said there’s a demand for black market pot to ease supply shortages and that those who produce it will ultimately be brought into the legal system.

When asked if they’re satisfied with the efforts of law enforcement to curb illicit sales, a spokeswoman for Alberta Gaming Liquor Cannabis reiterated that restrictions on cannabis still exist.

“While this is a law enforcement issue, AGLC continues to work with the RCMP and municipal law enforcement agencies to enforce the Cannabis Act, Cannabis Regulations, the Gaming Liquor and Cannabis Act and the gaming, liquor and cannabis regulations in an effort to curb the illegal cannabis market,” Heather Holmen said in a email.

Successful legalization that ensures competitive prices and safe products is the best weapon against the $16-billion black market, and it’s having a noticeable effect, Bill Blair, the federal minister responsible for the file, said in Calgary last month.

“There’s been a fairly substantial process of displacement of that black market, a real dent in the profits of organized crime,” said Blair, adding he’s confident nearly 50 per cent of cannabis sales in Canada are now legal.

In a statement, the RCMP said it targets organized criminals trafficking in cannabis but would refer some cases to other federal bodies, such as Canada Border Service Agency and Canada Post.

“Police enforcement relating to unlicensed cannabis distributors may vary between communities as police agencies in Canada work closely with community stakeholders to identify local risks,” said spokeswoman Michelle Schmidt.

“The RCMP’s Federal Policing program focuses its resources and activities against the most significant criminal threats and risks facing Canadians.”

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