Police doled out stiff fines to and seized $1,500 in product from unlicensed Edmonton cannabis stores last month.
Edmonton Police Service said it started investigating the businesses, which do not have municipal or provincial licences to sell pot, at the start of 2019.
The city and EPS launched a joint operation that resulted in the product being seized on Aug. 21.
Eight pot shops were also fined a total of $48,000 for licence and bylaw offences.
Police say they’ll keep cracking down on illegal cannabis stores, especially with edible products set to be introduced to the legal market this October.
“With edibles coming soon, we want to remind all workers in the cannabis industry that if you’re selling any cannabis products without a licence, including those that contain CBD, businesses can be fined up to $50,000 and individual workers can face a fine of up to $10,000.
Last October when marijuana was legalized in Canada, stores quickly ran out of product and Alberta halted issuing new provincial licences.
Since then, supply steadily increased until 22,1666 kilograms of cannabis was available in stores by the end of May.
Statistics Canada recently released numbers showing that Alberta sold $123.7 million of legal pot in the first nine months of legalization, the highest out of any Canadian province.
To find a list of licenced cannabis retailers, visit the Alberta government’s website.
