Ottawa police raid 2 cannabis dispensaries

Ottawa police officers raided two cannabis dispensaries Tuesday using new provincial regulations that are meant to make it easier to close illicit pot shops.

Police providedfew details Tuesday, but said they executed warrants at two shops, one on Churchill Avenue and another on Rideau Street.

The two shops were the last shops to remain open in the city, according to Const. AmyGagnon.

Police charged six people in total between the two clinics three women and three men and seized cannabis from both locations.

The people were charged under provincial laws that were brought in at the same time as the regulations governing how pot is sold in Ontario.

The province sells marijuana onlineand plans to allow brick-and-mortar stores to open in April, 2019.

Dispensaries that wanted to operate under the legal system were told they had to close if they wanted to be consideredfor licenses.

The new regulations allow the police to fine store owners if the shops re-open.