Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - July 22, 2015, Winnipeg, Manitoba C M Y K PAGE B4 B 4 WINNIPEG FREE PRESS, WEDNESDAY, JULY 22, 2015 CITY winnipegfreepress. com I N the three weeks since he started selling his product, Glenn Price of Your Medical Cannabis Headquarters has had highs and lows. What he's made clear is, although police have ordered him to stop, he's not going up in smoke. After a brief hiatus, Price began selling medical marijuana again Tuesday morning, despite being ordered not to by police a week earlier. After a tumultuous few days including two police visits to his shop, a " smoke- in" at Winnipeg police headquarters and a near- doubling in customer interest, Price said Tuesday he's " not going anywhere." " I just can't stop. I can't stop helping people that need help," Price said at his shop at 1404 Main St. " And if ( police) want to come arrest me, they know where I am." Although Price said he only sells his product to adults who have prescriptions who go through an assessment process with the store, he is not licensed by Health Canada to sell medical cannabis, meaning his operation is illegal. Police ordered him to stop sales on July 14, only two weeks after he started. In those two weeks, Price had built up a customer base of more than 200 people. Now, he said, it's more than 400. When his shop opened as usual Tuesday, some of those supporters gathered with picket signs and posters to stand behind him, vowing to form a human wall to prevent police, if they arrived, from entering the shop to arrest Price. The event, like Monday's " smoke- in" at the Public Safety Building, was organized by Steven Stairs, a local medical cannabis user involved with the Green party. " We're going to do whatever we can to support him, and if he ends up getting arrested, we'll work on a plan after for the next thing," Stairs said on Tuesday. " But we're not going to stop." It hasn't come to that - yet. Police did not visit the store on Tuesday, although Stairs said he thinks they will soon. Stairs said the dispensary, the only one in Manitoba, provides needed access to cannabis for medical users. The legal alternative, the Health Canada- approved mail- order system, can leave patients waiting for months, Price added, and his own three- month wait helped motivate him to start the shop. The other option, of course, is to buy from ever- present underground drug dealers. At a news conference on Monday, Winnipeg police spokesman Const. Jason Micalyshen said police will shut down anyone who sells cannabis without a licence, but wouldn't comment on individual cases. Police issued a news release that day listing the potential dangers of unauthorized marijuana sales, including unknown quality and contents. A complaint about Price's shop was filed a week ago by Vancouver- based Pamela McColl of the national anti- pot organization Smart Approaches to Marijuana. She said in an earlier interview she is concerned Price's marijuana would make its way to youth, sold to them by adults who got it legitimately, and that it could " normalize" pot use to kids. If he is arrested, Price promises he won't stop trying to run his business. If it isn't him, he said, another person will step in and run the store for him, and he would come back as soon as possible after being arrested. " How far am I willing to go with this? Supreme Court," Price said Tuesday. " I'm not going to be quiet about this. I'm going to go until they stop me, as far as I can go." aidan. geary@ freepress. mb. ca Pot- store owner opens doors again ' Not going anywhere' despite police order PHOTOS BY WAYNE GLOWACKI / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS ABOVE: Glenn Price begins selling medical marijuana again Tuesday morning at his shop on Main Street, despite a police order to stop. ABOVE LEFT: Supporters rally outside the shop. By Aidan Geary Park pleasures Yuliya Lahvinka with her daughter, Eva, paint a picture together in Assiniboine Park Tuesday afternoon. Today should be mostly sunny and warm, but showers are in the forecast for Thursday. JOE BRYKSA / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS MEMBERS of the Winnipeg Police Service's homicide unit are working closely with arson investigators as they investigate a suspicious death at a burned house in the North End. A man's body was discovered after crews extinguished an early morning fire Monday in the 600 block of Pritchard Avenue. The deceased hasn't been identified, and autopsy results are pending. Police spokesman Const. Jason Michalyshen said the circumstances surrounding the death are suspicious. " Based on our initial assessment of the deceased at this time, we do have concerns with respect to... what cause of death might be. At this point, we're clearly identifying that foul play is suspected here," he said. As of Tuesday, police had not laid any charges and asked anyone with information to call investigators at 204- 986- 6508 or Crime Stoppers at 204- 786- 8477. Firefighters arrived around 5: 40 a. m. Monday and found the wooden, onestorey home ablaze. The property is owned by the North End Housing Project, but neighbours said they don't know who lived there. Sirens awoke Lloyd and Mary- Lou Pakoo, who rushed out to see smoke billowing from the house across the street and emergency vehicles parked all around. After police announced a body had been found inside, they awaited more information about the homicide investigation. " It hits close to home," said Mary- Lou. The couple, longtime residents of the neighbourhood, noticed a continuous police presence in front of the tapedoff house Tuesday afternoon but said they weren't worried. Lloyd said he was used to seeing people coming and going from that house all the time, but he said he and his wife keep to themselves. " We live in this area - we've just got to put up with it, keep our noses clean." - staff Homicide, arson units probe death WAYNE GLOWACKI / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Winnipeg police at the scene Tuesday morning of a house fire on Pritchard Avenue. The homicide unit is investigating. B_ 04_ Jul- 22- 15_ FP_ 01. indd B4 7/ 21/ 15 7: 54: 34 PM ;