The City of Toronto says its crackdown on illegal pot shops has resulted in 41 charges since cannabis was made legal last October.Those charges include seven laid since the city’s first legal cannabis store opened on April 1, city spokesperson Lyne Kyle said.Bylaw officers are currently investigating 21 suspected illegal cannabis storefronts, the city said in a Wednesday news release.Ontario’s Cannabis Control Act, which came into effect on Oct. 17, 2018, gives bylaw officers enhanced powers to shut down unlicensed pot shops.Individuals charged under the act can face fines of up to $250,000 and a maximum jail term of two years less a day.Corporations can face fines ranging from $25,000 to $1 million. Following a fine, a justice of the peace can also order a property closed for up to two years.Illegal pot shop operators who are fined will also be unable to apply for a legal cannabis retail licence.There are currently 15 charges before the courts and another 26 awaiting a court date, according to the release.The city has nine bylaw officers working on cannabis enforcement. They are responsible for conducting investigations, closing and barring item to locations, conducting seizures and laying charges.“The law is very clear,” Mayor John Tory said earlier this month. “As of April 1, the people who are supposed to be selling marijuana are people who are licensed to do so.”Mark Sraga, the city’s director of investigation services for municipal licensing and standards, earlier told the Star bylaw officers are taking a zero-tolerance approach to landlords warned about illegal pot shops. “We will charge the landlord, because they have been given an opportunity to stop the selling illegally,” he said. “Landlords should be checking and seeing what their tenants are up to.”Ontario has issued 25 licences for retail pot stores, with five of those locations designated for Toronto.Emerald Bensadoun is a breaking ...
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