Regina cops went overboard in pot-related bust, says store owner
Jonathan Metz of Green Street Clinic says not even the guy refilling his store's ATM was spared
A Regina business owner who was among those targeted in a six-store pot-themed raid by Regina police Wednesday said the cops went overboard at his store.
But the police said the search was done after a judge was swayed by evidence "compelling enough" to grant a warrant.
Jonathan Metz owns Green Street Clinic on Francis Street. His store helps connect people with doctors who can help them obtain Health Canada licences to possess and consume cannabis.
Green Street doesn't sell pot but does offer hemp-based edibles that help treat arthritis and anxiety in dogs, says Metz.
'We don't sell marijuana'
Metz says two plain-clothes officers entered his store Wednesday night and asked to buy some pot. After he told them he doesn't sell pot, he says he told them he could help them get a licence.
When he asked them for ID to help fill out forms needed to apply for a licence, they told him he was under arrest, Metz says.
Metz was read his rights, asked if he wanted to call a lawyer and put in handcuffs, he says.
"They were saying that we were trafficking. I asked them, 'Well, who did we sell any cannabis or marijuana to? How did you guys get this warrant when we haven't sold anything to anybody?' We even have liability forms that people sign that say we don't sell marijuana," said Metz.
'They even took' the ATM guy's money
The police took his personal laptop and phone and some patient information, including people's addresses, conditions and the medications they're on, he says.
"They even took — the guy from the ATM, he walked in right when they were here. They detained him and took his money as well. And he was just here to fill the ATM.
"It's crazy," said Metz.
Metz was ultimately released and is not among those charged yet, though police say more charges from the raids are anticipated.
"I understand they have a job to do but taking my personal stuff from my other businesses, like, I own a gym and a personal training company and today I had to try and get a hold of my clients but I couldn't contact them because all that stuff is in that laptop and on that phone."
Police still looking over items
Elizabeth Popowich, a spokesperson for the Regina Police Service, said the authority to conduct a search is not granted lightly.
"Essentially police have to provide evidence compelling enough to persuade a judge to permit police to enter a place and specific enough that they name what they expect to find in the search," she said.
"Computers and business files might be included as potential evidence of an illegal business."
Police are still examining all the items seized, she added.
"Certainly it's possible there were items seized in a search that prove, upon completion of the investigation, to be unrelated to the alleged offences. If that's the case, there's a process to have those items returned to their owners."
At a Thursday press conference, Regina Police Chief Evan Bray said "a lot of the activity that was happening [at the locations raided], even after legalization, won't be legal and won't be allowed to happen: selling to youth, selling edibles."