Police raid 2 Toronto pot dispensaries, including former Cannabis Culture

Police raided two pot shopsin Toronto Tuesday evening.

One of the raids was atthe former Cannabis Culture at 461 Church St., now calledVillage Cannabis Dispensary.

The other raid was atCanadian Greenat Bloor Street West and Lansdowne Avenue, said Const. DavidHopkinsonofthe Toronto Police Service.

• Police raid Cannabis Culture store; 4 people charged
• Prince of Pot Marc Emery and wife released on $30K bail and dispensary reopens

Hopkinsondid not provide any information abouthow much marijuana was seized. He said charges are pending and investigations are still open.

Customer describes raid

Ori Verkovitch, who calls himself a loyal patron of Cannabis Culture and friend of several of itsemployees,said he heading out of the store when police arrived.

"They stopped people from leaving. They said to the people,'If you work here, on one side.Anybody else better leave right away, or they're going to be dealt with accordingly,'" he said.

"Everybody went outside, the staff were inside, they were spoken to for a while. They were then released," he said.

Verkovitch said police then went into the shop with a box and left bythe back door.

"The staff are all safe; the customers were all safe," he said.

"Knowing the owner they're going to re-open right away, because that's how they operate."

'Prince of Pot'

Canada's so-called "Prince of Pot," Marc Emery, had previously owned the Cannabis Culture storewith his wife,Jodie.

The two were charged with drug trafficking, conspiracy and possession earlier this month, afterpolice raided variousCannabis Culture locations in Ontario and Vancouver.

Theywere each released on $30,000 bail and one of their conditions was that they no longer manage or own thebusiness.

Jodie Emery said in a tweet to CBC News on Wednesday that neither she nor her husband own the store any longer, which has since been rebranded.

The story's manager, Mark Harrison, said that other staff members bought the store after the Emery's arrest.