Co-Owner of the Sedgefield ‘CanaPax’ shop – a franchise cannabis outlet which made headlines on Easter Saturday after it was shut down during a police raid – says that the shop’s paperwork is now in order, and that they will soon be open for business again.
With Cannabis being such a burning topic, national and regional newsdesks were all abuzz with the story of the unexpected activity at Sedgefield’s Plum Tree Trading Post Centre. This after members attached to the Outeniqua K-9( Dog Unit) swooped in on the newly opened Canapax shop, only two hours after it had opened its doors for the first day of trade.
According to SAPS spokesperson Captain Malcolm Poje, the members were reacting as a result of information received. In the ensuing search, they found and confiscated a substantial amount of merchandise containing various forms of cannabis packaged in the shop.
“The merchandise included Cannabis oils, sweets, cookies and rusks, white widow, wedding cake, crossed with Gelato33, and Gorilla cookies, all of these containing Cannabis,” he said, adding that police had also confiscated an undisclosed amount of cash.
The value of the confiscated merchandise is estimated at about eighty thousand Rand.
Poje said that a 31-year-old suspect from Wilderness was arrested on the spot but was later released on a warning to appear in court in August. He explained that the delay is so that the content of the confiscated goods can be determined by laboratory testing before the case is heard. The suspect, whose name cannot be released by SAPS, will be facing a charge of Illegal dealing in Drugs (Cannabis).
“Efforts to eradicate the illegal distribution of drugs which are believed to be major crime contributors, remains a priority for the Western Cape Police, despite recent changes to legislation that has legalised the private cultivation and consumption of Dagga.
However, The selling or dealing in prohibited drugs remains an offense that needs to be policed,” says Poje.
The CanaPax shop is part of a franchise group of over 40 Medical Cannabis Dispensaries which operate in various parts of South Africa. It is co-owned by two brothers (name withheld at their request) one of whom also owns the Wilderness branch. In a telephone interview, he said that since the raid their businesses have both received official registration from the Traditional Healers Association, so they will be up and trading again within a week or two.
“We are not criminals and we are not hiding anything,” he told us, “We are distributors of Cannabis for medicinal use.”
(Picture source finfeed.com)
