Marijuana dispensary owner, Glenn Price, appears in Winnipeg court

About a dozen supporters gathered outside the Winnipeg Law Courts on Thursday as Glenn Price, the owner of Winnipeg's first medical marijuana dispensary appeared in court.

• Glenn Price, medical marijuana shop owner, to fight charges in court
• Shop owner disguised 'drug trafficking' business as medical marijuana shop: police

Price owns Your Medical Cannabis Headquarters on Main Street.

The shop was raided earlier this month, and Price is now facing a number of charges including drug trafficking, possessing a scheduled substance for the purpose of trafficking, possessing the proceeds of property obtained by crime and possessing a scheduled substance.

Price said the charges are a waste of the court's time and his.

"I opened this shop to give back to the community," he said. "700 people are back on the streets buying medical cannabis illegally."

The store is open again but only as an educational centre and lounge, Price said.

Price is raising money to hire a prominent lawyer in modernizing cannabis policies, Kirk Tousaw.

"[Some of my patients] are telling me they're having a hard time finding medicine," he said, adding he plans to fight the charges in court and bring awareness to the medical marijuana issue.

Price said literature, pipes and more were seized from his shop, and he wants the items returned.

"I asked the Crown to take receipts of mine so that I could show that I've paid for all the stuff they've seized in my store so I could get it back," he said.

Craig Bushell came out to support Price on Thursday. He said he wants the issue dealt with at a federal level.

"I'm here to support Glen because there needs to be more public awareness on this issue," he said. "People like Glen that are trying to get out in front of this thing, I have to support that."