Ottawa
By Natasha O’Neill
Posted Apr 16, 2026 11:14:35 AM.
Last Updated Apr 16, 2026 11:14:40 AM.
A “significant” quantity of unregulated cannabis was seized from a Vanier storefront after several months of investigating by Ottawa police.
In January, officers identified a cannabis dispensary operating without a licence in the 100 block of Montreal Road. The next month, police issued a notice to the property owner directing the business to end operations.
“Despite this notice, the dispensary continued to operate,” officials said in a press release.
On April 14, police gathered the Vanier/Overbrook Neighbourhood Resource Team and executed a search warrant in accordance with the Cannabis Control Act at the storefront. There, they seized large quantities of cannabis in various forms, unstamped tobacco and Canadian currency.
Officials are reminding residents that cannabis can only be sold through retailers authorized by the province, and any illegal operations are a policing matter.
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Police have routinely conducted search warrants at cannabis dispensaries not operating with licences. In February, they carried out two raids in the west end to shutter the businesses. In the investigation, an employee was charged, and both storefronts shared the same landlord.
Data from Health Canada states that in 2023, 72 per cent of cannabis users reported getting their product from a legal source (storefront or online), yet only 3 per cent reported getting their product from an illegal source.
Beena Goldenberg, the CEO of Organigram Global, said the problem is that many consumers do not know which storefronts and websites are legitimate. A Statistics Canada survey found the illicit market still accounts for 30 per cent of cannabis sales.
“We’re competing against that illicit market who don’t pay excise taxes, that don’t adhere to the regulations, that don’t have all these extra costs,” Goldenberg said.
According to the Abacus Data poll, 43 per cent of Canadians want tougher enforcement against the illegal market to recover lost revenue and protect consumers.
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