A community complaint led to an unlicensed cannabis store being shut down by the Brantford Police Service (BPS) in Ontario. 

First, on January 27, 2025, the police received information from a concerned citizen about the operation of a possible illegal cannabis storefront located near Colborne Street and Clarence Street in Brantford. 

Then on Thursday, April 10, once police determined the store was in fact not licensed, members of the BPS Core Engagement and Response Team (CERT), executed a search warrant at the retail location. 

Approximately $130,860 in illegal cannabis and cannabis-related products were seized. 

As a result of the investigation, a 50-year-old man and a 51-year-old man, both from Barrie, were arrested and stand charged with distribution of illicit cannabis and possession of cannabis for the purpose of selling.

Although no information about the store was provided in a police press release, Google Maps lists an unlicensed cannabis store called Baouhawk Cannabis at the intersection of Colborne Street and Clarence Street. 

Pictures of products in the store on the company’s Google map listing show glass jars with labelling that appear similar to those displayed by police. 

Unlicensed cannabis stores, many of which disappeared in the years following 2018’s federal legalization, have begun making a comeback in some parts of Ontario in recent years.

Ontario passed new legislation in late 2024 that would impose new penalties for advertising and promoting illegal cannabis as a way of addressing some of this new proliferation of illegal and unlicensed cannabis stores. This new legislation gives bylaw officers more ability to penalize illicit operators without relying entirely on Toronto or Ontario police services. 

In 2024, Ontario also affirmed its commitment to investing $31 million over three years to support the Provincial Joint Forces Cannabis Enforcement Teams (PJFCET), although the focus was more on illicit online retailers than the new brick and mortar locations. 

Many cannabis retailers in Ontario have expressed frustration at what they say is under-enforcement by police against unlicensed cannabis stores. 

Police in different parts of the province have been sporadically shutting down illicit stores, with varying degrees of success. At times stores will quickly re-open following actions by police. 

On March 4, police in Ontario executed a search warrant at an unlicensed cannabis store in Windsor, seizing cannabis and cash and arrested two individuals. Also in March, RCMP dismantled a large illicit cannabis network. The investigation began in the Summer of 2022, after the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) referred the matter for investigation to the RCMP. 

In November 2024, the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) shut down an illegal cannabis shop in Leamington.

In 2024, Toronto City Council passed a motion asking the province to undertake a comprehensive review of the Provincial Cannabis Control Act, 2017. The motion says a review is “imperative to ensure the effective regulations and enforcement of cannabis-related matters” in Ontario.

Municipalities need more tools and resources to address these illegal cannabis businesses, the motion read, including “exploring options to strengthen enforcement measures, increase penalties for non-compliance, and improve collaboration between municipalities and provincial authorities.”

The city had recently said they no longer have the budget to handle cannabis enforcement with bylaw officers.

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