Saanich Police seized edible cannabis products from what they report to be an industrial kitchen-style facility in a commercial building on Glanford Avenue.
Police executed a search warrant on April 24 at the facility on the 4200 block of Glanford Avenue and attended along with officials from Island Health and the District of Saanich.
“When we attended we found what we believed to be cannabis and were granted the right to search the business, at which time we found additional cannabis food products [which Island Health has since disposed of],” said Sgt. Jereme Leslie.
It’s believed the industrial style kitchen was used to sell the edibles, which would necessitate a food license through the Island Health authority.
“The business was not operating under a business licence and it was not being regulated by any health authority. In these types of situations there is always a concern for people’s health. In addition to these concerns the products seized are illegal.”
Saanich Police are still working with various agencies and the investigation is still ongoing. There have been no charges recommended at this time.
Previous reports indicated Mota Cannabis Products, one of the largest Canadian suppliers of cannabis edibles, operated out of the space shared with The Bottle Depot on Glanford Avenue.
Leslie had previously declined to answer questions about the raid on the facility.
“Speaking about it, at this time, may compromise the outcome so I’ve got to protect the integrity of the ongoing investigation,” he said on Wednesday. “There are no public safety risks. Hopefully, I’ll be able to speak about the matter by the end of the week but at this point I don’t have a defined timeline.”
On early Wednesday afternoon, the door of the business remained behind yellow police tape, with a Saanich Police vehicle parked nearby. A man believed to be a member of Saanich Police could be seen working in the building, stepping in and out of the building to presumably avoid being video-taped.
Megan Catalano, a spokesperson for the District of Saanich, said staff are not participating in the investigation.
In terms of recreational cannabis, the federal government regulates what can be sold,” she said. “The sale of recreational edible products is currently not permitted. The federal government anticipates the authorization of the sale of such goods would take place within 12 months of the initial legislation coming into force.”
Catalano said municipal governments can regulate land use matters such as where recreational cannabis is sold and operational conditions such as store hours and signage.
“Each local government has unique factors to consider in regulating these matters,” she said.
Council is set to receive a staff report concerning recreational cannabis in the near future.