A Provincial Court of Nova Scotia Associate Chief denied two applications by a man who faced multiple charges following an RCMP search of an unlicensed cannabis store in 2024 at 3129 Hwy #12 in Welton Landing.
Brandon Allen Dorey, facing charges including Cannabis Act offences after a July 31, 2024, RCMP search of his Welton Landing cannabis dispensary, challenged the search warrant used by police in the raid. Dorey argued that the warrant was invalid and that his Charter rights were breached because the Information to Obtain wrongly named a different person, Cody Ward, as the operator.
Dorey also filed an application seeking leave to cross-examine the affiant (the police officer who swore the Information to Obtain the warrant) about the background investigation.
Court records state the name of the business was Weeds N’ Needs Medical Cannabis. Google Maps currently lists the same location as home to Gasperau Lake Treaty Truck House. A website for Weeds N’ Needs is also identified as Gasperau Lake Treaty Truck House. Google Maps currently lists another Weeds n Needs cannabis store as open and operating on Pennal Indian Reserve No. 19, a short drive from the location of the 2024 raid.
The Court upheld the warrant, ruling that a search warrant authorizes searching a place for evidence of an offence (an illegal cannabis store), and the operator’s identity is not essential. Dorey’s application to cross-examine the affiant was denied, as the focus on ownership was deemed irrelevant and immaterial.
The initial RCMP report for the July 31, 2024, raid says officers attended three locations and seized hundreds of small quantity packages of illegal cannabis, tobacco, and vape products, as well as a quantity of psilocybin (magic mushrooms). Two Kentville men, a 33-year-old and a 27-year-old, were arrested in relation to two of these locations.
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Nova Scotia court upholds search warrant for unlicensed cannabis shop
