Nanaimo marijuana dispensaries raided by RCMP

Nanaimo RCMP servedsearch warrants on three marijuana dispensaries Tuesday following several complaints including selling pot to minors and actively soliciting sales from the sidewalk.

The warrants came just weeks after 10 pot shops in the city were hand-delivered letters from police asking them to cease sales within seven days or risk criminal charges.

"When I have reports of storefronts selling marihuana to youth and concerned community members approaching me about it, we are compelled to take enforcement action,"Supt. Mark Fisher said in a statement Thursday.

• NanaimoRCMPcrackdown on pot shops: justice minister unaware

He added that no further comment would be made on the warrants by Nanaimo RCMP.

At the time the warning letters were delivered less than a month after Canadians elected a government with a mandate to legalize pot Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybouldwas asked if the RCMP's stance ran counter tothe government's direction.

"We were very clear in our platform and certainly we will be moving forward with this.I will be having discussions with my colleague [Public Safety] Minister Goodale on this matter," the minister told CBC's Early Edition Nov. 13.