Six people are facing Cannabis Act charges following a joint operation between OPP and the Windsor Police Service.
Provincial Police report officers executed two search warrants at storefronts on University Avenue West and on Tecumseh Road West, both near Church Street, in Windsor on Thursday.
Four people, all from Windsor, are charged following the police response to Envy on University Avenue West.
Christopher Meers, 35, Ariana Jade Poisson, 20, Zachary Whipple, 27, and Jordan Haight, 33, are charged with possession for the purpose of selling contrary to the Cannabis Act.
Two people are charged tied the police response to Compassion House on Tecumseh Road West.
Wyatt Slogan, 22, and Terry Pargelen, 30, are each charged with possession for the purpose of selling contrary to the Cannabis Act.
Police seized cash and illicit cannabis products at both locations.
The accused are due in court at a later date.
The owner of Compassion House, Leo Lucier, tells CTV Windsor he is not sure if he will reopen.
Lucier argues he’s not breaking the law because he’s not selling pot – he hands out a joint for free as long as people make a donation to charity.
"Cannabis is either legal or it is illegal. Today it is legal,” says Lucier. “I'm allowed to share up to 30 grams of marijuana, so if I have 10 people in here, that‘s 30 grams they could hold. Do the math, that’s 300 grams of marijuana so you know I was in my legal realms of doing this.”
Compassion House was also the subject of a raid in November 2018, and five people were charged.
Although the recreational use of marijuana is legal in Canada, pot can only legally be sold through the online Ontario Cannabis Store.
Brick and mortar licensed retail pot shops will be able to sell pot as of April 1, but no retail licenses have been issued for businesses in Windsor-Essex.
Lucier tells CTV News he could not enter the license lottery because he’s a recovering gambling addict.
