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More than half the charges laid against London marijuana dispensary staffers and operators swept up in a series of raids on the illegal businesses in the past two years have been withdrawn, court records examined by The Free Press show.

London police have launched seven raids in three separate crackdowns on city pot shops since August 2016, resulting in 49 charges against 15 people.

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tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or They were busted in London pot-dispensary raids. Often, the charges don’t stick Back to video

But court records show 25 of those charges — mostly for possession for the purposes of trafficking — were later withdrawn and resolved through peace bonds, a non-plea order requiring the person to be on good behaviour for a set period of time.

Just three convictions were secured against two men, both of them dispensary operators at the time of their arrest, resulting in fines and weapons bans but no jail time.

It's a case of the criminal law being used to shape government policy. Toronto lawyer Paul Lewin

The remaining cases involving two dozen charges against seven people are still working their way through the courts, but there’s no indication the results will be different.