PORT SAXON, SHELBURNE COUNTY, NS – Charges have been laid against two individuals in Shelburne County following an investigation into a business that the RCMP say has been determined not to be a licensed marijuana supplier.
The RCMP say Shelburne RCMP's Street Crime Enforcement Unit (SCEU) received information about a dispensary that had been established on Shore Road in Port Saxon, which is located between Shelburne and Barrington.
“The business was advertising its products on social media sites online,” reads a media release by the RCMP issued on Sept. 25.
The RCMP say they carried out a three-month investigation.
“RCMP investigators determined that the public could purchase marijuana from the business without a prescription,” the media release states.
On Sept. 21, police say they searched the business and arrested a man and a woman without incident. During the search, police say they located a significant amount of marijuana products which had been prepared for retail sales.
Terry Lawrence Nickerson, 51, of Port Saxon has been charged with Possession of a Controlled Substance for the Purpose of Trafficking and Breach of a Firearms Prohibition Order. Bertha Phyllis Marie Wilkinson, 47, of Port Saxon, has been charged with Possession of a Controlled Substance for the Purpose of Trafficking and Trafficking in a Controlled Substance.
Both were released from custody and are scheduled to attend Shelburne Provincial Court on Dec. 5.
“Given the highly overt advertisement of this illegal business, the RCMP continues to ask the public to contact them at 902-875-2490 if they have information about specific incidents related to the sale of marijuana products in Port Saxon,” reads the RCMP release.
The police say further charges may be pending as the investigation continues.
The day before the RCMP announced that it had conducted searches and would be laying charges for drug-related offences in relation to searches that were conducted on Sept. 21, relating to what the RCMP called illegal marihuana storefront operations in Kings and Annapolis Counties.
In the Kings County searches, two storefronts on Commercial St. in New Minas and one on Argus Dr. in Greenwood were searched. Numerous people were being charged with offences of Possession of a Controlled Substance for the Purpose of Trafficking
In Annapolis County, a business on Main St. in Middleton and a home on Granville Rd. in Annapolis Royal were searched, resulting in drug and firearms charges pending against an Annapolis County man.
Outside the Kentville courthouse on Sept. 24, shouts, a siren and marijuana smoke were in the air outside the Kentville courthouse Monday as a few dozen people protested the arrest of a woman for allegedly operating a marijuana dispensary. READ STORY HERE
Asked if the RCMP is weeding out dispensaries ahead of the legalization of cannabis, RCMP Corporal Jennifer Clarke said, “There's not a crackdown happening. We continue to enforce the current laws and address community concerns.”
She told Saltwire Network earlier in the week, as well, that marijuana dispensaries are simply not legal.
“Health Canada is the only way to get legal marijuana right now — there’s nothing grey about it,” she said.
