grasping lol again 
In Terrebonne, several licensed residences of Health Canada to grow pot for medical purposes shelter people linked to criminal groups. A situation observed elsewhere in Quebec that frustrates police forces, who have their hands tied. "The government said it wanted to remove the black market. He found a way to legalize it. "
Permit to cultivate cannabis for medical purposes: a loophole for organized crime
"Health Canada is a colander! "
The deputy director of the police of Terrebonne, Éric Hallé, fulminates and says aloud what many investigators and police chiefs are thinking in Quebec.
One year after the legalization of marijuana on October 17, 2018, criminal groups found in Health Canada's licenses to give individuals the right to grow pot for medical purposes, a loophole that allows them to to continue their lucrative activities without being bothered. "The government said it wanted to remove the black market," said Hallé, also responsible for investigations at the police in Terrebonne. "With these permits, he did not remove it. He found a way to legalize it. "
PHOTO PROVIDED BY THE POLICE OF TERREBONNE
Marijuana planting in a Terrebonne home, similar to those grown by Health Canada licensees
"It does not make sense," the officer said again. From the beginning, there has been pressure from the Department of Public Safety to have the licensing process stop. Cities have passed resolutions denouncing the situation, but they can not pass by-laws banning cultivation in residential neighborhoods, because you can not go against a federal regulation. "
The latter took part Thursday with about forty other chiefs and police officers, at a meeting of the Association of Quebec Police Directors, during which, among other things, these permits were discussed. . In recent months, La Presse has come across many investigators from various police forces, including the SPVM, who were cursing these licenses, and spoke to them.
Although the Chiefs Association does not want to go as far as the deputy director of the Terrebonne police force, its President and Chief of Police of Quebec, Robert Pigeon, is concerned. Health Canada's licenses are a reality that managers are finding more and more, he notes. They wonder why it is not stopped and why licensees would not buy from legal distributors, such as the Quebec Cannabis Society (SQDC), rather than produce them.
Why is it still possible when now there is the SQDC? Before, it was correct, because cannabis was not legal yet, but now, why we give permissions that open the door to criminals?
Robert Pigeon, Chief of the Quebec Police
Antecedents and criminal groups
According to Eric Hallé, getting a license from Health Canada to grow marijuana is a breeze. Consumers consult on the Internet a doctor who, most of the time, is outside Quebec or the country, and obtain a prescription. They then communicate with Health Canada and receive a license to cultivate for medical purposes, sometimes allowing them to grow more than 200 plants in their homes.
In Terrebonne, several licensed residences of Health Canada to grow pot for medical purposes shelter people linked to criminal groups. A situation observed elsewhere in Quebec that frustrates police forces, who have their hands tied. "The government said it wanted to remove the black market. He found a way to legalize it. "
Permit to cultivate cannabis for medical purposes: a loophole for organized crime
"Health Canada is a colander! "
The deputy director of the police of Terrebonne, Éric Hallé, fulminates and says aloud what many investigators and police chiefs are thinking in Quebec.
One year after the legalization of marijuana on October 17, 2018, criminal groups found in Health Canada's licenses to give individuals the right to grow pot for medical purposes, a loophole that allows them to to continue their lucrative activities without being bothered. "The government said it wanted to remove the black market," said Hallé, also responsible for investigations at the police in Terrebonne. "With these permits, he did not remove it. He found a way to legalize it. "
PHOTO PROVIDED BY THE POLICE OF TERREBONNE
Marijuana planting in a Terrebonne home, similar to those grown by Health Canada licensees
"It does not make sense," the officer said again. From the beginning, there has been pressure from the Department of Public Safety to have the licensing process stop. Cities have passed resolutions denouncing the situation, but they can not pass by-laws banning cultivation in residential neighborhoods, because you can not go against a federal regulation. "
The latter took part Thursday with about forty other chiefs and police officers, at a meeting of the Association of Quebec Police Directors, during which, among other things, these permits were discussed. . In recent months, La Presse has come across many investigators from various police forces, including the SPVM, who were cursing these licenses, and spoke to them.
Although the Chiefs Association does not want to go as far as the deputy director of the Terrebonne police force, its President and Chief of Police of Quebec, Robert Pigeon, is concerned. Health Canada's licenses are a reality that managers are finding more and more, he notes. They wonder why it is not stopped and why licensees would not buy from legal distributors, such as the Quebec Cannabis Society (SQDC), rather than produce them.
Why is it still possible when now there is the SQDC? Before, it was correct, because cannabis was not legal yet, but now, why we give permissions that open the door to criminals?
Robert Pigeon, Chief of the Quebec Police
Antecedents and criminal groups
According to Eric Hallé, getting a license from Health Canada to grow marijuana is a breeze. Consumers consult on the Internet a doctor who, most of the time, is outside Quebec or the country, and obtain a prescription. They then communicate with Health Canada and receive a license to cultivate for medical purposes, sometimes allowing them to grow more than 200 plants in their homes.
