Representatives from Fire & Flower, a national retail cannabis chain, says there is no truth to an accusation circulating online that employees at one of their stores in Yorkton, Saskatchewan reported a woman for buying too much Cannabis to social services.

The accusation, which originally surfaced on a Facebook post in 2019 by the Saskatchewan Medical Cannabis Association, claimed that employees at the Yorkton store called police on a woman for purchasing too much cannabis. It is claimed that then police referred the call to social services who visited the woman’s house and took her children away. In the same post, the group says “legalization is just as bad as prohibition” and directs people to only use illicit dispensaries.

The claim resurfaced on social media again recently after the same Facebook group re-posted their previous post from June 2019. No evidence has been provided supporting these claims, with the Facebook group attributing the accusation to “a confidential informant”. Attempts to contact the group and their co-founder and spokesperson were not fruitful. 

“Recent social media posts have circulated claims originally made by the Saskatchewan Medical Cannabis Association in June of 2019 about our store in Yorkton, Saskatchewan. The claims were fully investigated at that time – they were not true then and are not true now. Our staff have always treated all of our customers with respect and in the spirit of inclusion and support.”

Matthew Anderson – Fire & Flower

A representative from Fire & Flower did respond to a request for comment.

“Fire & Flower is proud of our record as an active and supportive member of the local communities where our employees live and work,” Matthew Anderson Vice President, Legal & Business Affairs and Corporate Secretary told StratCann via email. “Recent social media posts have circulated claims originally made by the Saskatchewan Medical Cannabis Association in June of 2019 about our store in Yorkton, Saskatchewan. The claims were fully investigated at that time – they were not true then and are not true now. Our staff have always treated all of our customers with respect and in the spirit of inclusion and support.”

Anderson says Fire & Flower’s legal team will take action against the source of the claim.

“We support all Canadians’ rights to express their viewpoints through peaceful protest, but are disappointed that some have chosen to do so by disseminating blatantly false information. We take the circulation of defamatory claims very seriously, and will take appropriate action to stop their spread.”