Following recent cannabis store robberies in Guelph, cannabis stores in the Durham Region are confident in their security measures.
The Canna Cabana store in Guelph was robbed by three armed suspects on April 4 and the case is still under investigation.
According to the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO), all cannabis retailers must have a monitored alarm system, surveillance cameras and secure storage for products after hours. Staff must also complete AGCO-approved training and be prepared to identify and deny entry to anyone under 19.
Retailers in Durham say they feel safe with the measures in place, despite being part of a relatively new legal industry dealing in high-demand products.
Trina Freesan, assistant manager of the Cana Cabana cannabis store located in Oshawa, has worked in the industry for four years and believes her store, located at Taunton and Wilson, is one of the safest in the region.
“We take all of our cannabis products out of the cabinets at night and lock them in a safe, and I know not every place does that, but we take our product into the back, so I think if anything were one of the safer locations,” said Freesan.
She also said her store has a panic button to alert authorities in case of a robbery.
“But other than that, we’ve got our alarms, lots of locks on all the doors — every single door, even the back,” said Freesan.
Logan Gardner, a keyholder at Tokyo Smoke on King Street in Oshawa, also feels secure at his location.
“I would consider us a fairly safe store because we do everything we can to make sure everything is proper and up to protocol,” he said.
Gardner is confident the industry’s security protocols are effective.
“There are a lot of things to get through. Good luck,” he said.
His location also locks all products away overnight.
An employee at the Kryptonite cannabis store located at Wilson and Rossland declined to speak with the Chronicle about this subject.
Between 2020 and 2022, there were 98 crimes related to the Cannabis Act reported in Durham Region. By comparison, Durham Regional Police reported 7,243 cases of vehicle theft and 3,515 incidents of fraud and identity theft in 2022 alone.
While retailers feel protected by current regulations, enforcing identification requirements can still present challenges.
“[There are] too many people who are getting mad at me for doing my job because a lot of cannabis stores don’t ID,” said Freesan.
She said her store frequently encounters individuals trying to enter with fake identification. Employees are trained to detect fake IDs as part of their mandatory certification.
“The other day this kid tried to give me a fake ID and unfortunately for him, it was very fake looking. I was able to take it and it felt like paper and asked for a second piece of ID and he didn’t have one and he was very clearly young so I denied it,” said Freesan.
Zane Yassin, co-founder of Cannabis Training Canada (CTC), which issues the AGCO-approved certification, said the program is designed to train employees to detect fakes.
“[The training] teaches you how to tell if [an ID is] fake so that they will walk you through the different security measures that are seen on approved licences and passports,” Yassin said. “We try to focus on the understanding of how to spot something fake.”
Although cannabis stores in Durham feel secure, the issue of window coverings remains a concern for many the industry.
“We need to remove window coverings,” said Jazz Samra, a cannabis entrepreneur, in an April LinkedIn post. “This move, while seemingly simple, carries a multitude of benefits that extend to consumers, retailers and society at large.”
Samra argues that increased visibility would help destigmatize cannabis, improve mental health for workers, and enhance safety. Being able to see into stores deters criminal activity and allows quicker response from law enforcement. It also builds consumer confidence by showing stores are clean, professional spaces, he said.
“For decades, cannabis was associated with illicit activities, partly because of its illegal status and partly due to societal perceptions,” Samra said. “By allowing visibility into the stores, it symbolizes openness and legitimacy, slowly eroding the stigma associated with cannabis.”