![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rfmcdonaldThe Toronto Star's David Rider reports on the latest from the marijuana dispensary arrests.
Marijuana dispensary owners, clerks and landlords got their first day in court Wednesday, with several calling it a waste of time and money as Canada moves toward full pot legalization.
More than a dozen people appeared at Old City Hall on provincial charges of contravening Toronto’s zoning bylaw that states only federal licensed marijuana distributors, who mail or courier pot, can operate in the city and only in industrial parts of Toronto.
Most accused received disclosure of the case against them and a date to return for trial in August on the charges that carry a maximum fine of $25,000 for individuals and $50,000 for corporations.
Many were also hit with more serious Criminal Code drug trafficking charges in the May 26 raids on medical marijuana dispensaries by Toronto police and city bylaw enforcement.
“I think it’s kind of ridiculous and funny, actually,” Mercedes Carter, 26, of Green Rhino Medicinal Cannabis on Danforth Ave. near Chester St., said of the zoning charges after appearing in court.
