Vancouver cannabis store owner concerned for staff safety after attempted robbery – BC
An East Vancouver cannabis store owner says he is concerned about the safety of his staff after a gunman attempted to rob his store Monday night.
This is the first time Kingsway Cannabis has been hit by an attempted robbery, according to store owner Charles Bariboff.
“When someone has a really scary gun, you never know if it’s a real gun or a replica or a starter pistol or a BB gun,” Baribov told Global News.
Luckily, no one was hurt and the suspect walked away empty-handed, but Baribov is worried this could happen again.
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The shop windows are covered with opaque film, so you can’t see inside or out, and Baribov said employees feel vulnerable to robberies.
“You don’t want to wake up in the morning, go to work and get hurt or worse, put in a body bag,” said Balibov.
When cannabis was first legalized in British Columbia, it was a requirement to block outside products and sales, but following constant backlash from the industry, at least the province dropped that requirement in 2020. was given.
“Especially when the violence around here was this high a few years ago, there was a murder in nearby Tatlow Park. We want to be able to protect our employees with the constant happenings in our store.
However, blocking the view of products in pot shops to protect children is still a federal requirement.
“For some reason, Health Canada doesn’t like the idea that children can see cannabis products, but there are many other things going on. Like the constant gambling and drinking ads. I We don’t want young children ingesting cannabis, but I think it’s worse for children to be able to see,” Nelson added.
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“Our owners are very passionate about safety and do not agree with what Health Canada thinks is best when it comes to safety issues. “Because we were working to get rid of it, and Health Canada completely ignored it,” Nelson explained.
“We thought about reconsidering our current window coverings, but we knew the cannabis laws would be reconsidered this year and didn’t want to do anything right away.”
Vancouver police are investigating the attempted robbery and tell Global News they are concerned whenever a lethal weapon is used.
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