In the midst of an escalating citywide crackdown on illegal pot dispensaries, cannabis users are ordering and picking up their weed on the sidewalk.

Last week, police and the city’s bylaw officers placed massive concrete blocks in front of the entrances of four stores run under the banner of Cannabis and Fine Edibles, or CAFE, as part of an ongoing effort to crack down on illegal marijuana outlets. Recreational cannabis can be legally purchased only from one of the province’s licensed retail shops or online at the government-owned Ontario Cannabis Store.

On Saturday, pot users were seen lining up on the sidewalk in front of the CAFE location on Harbord St., placing their orders with unknown individuals, who used hand-held tablets for the transactions, as others waited for pickups.

“The government’s rules are ridiculous,” said one young customer in his 20s, who would only give his name as “Smoky” after placing a half-ounce order of weed. “The quality of the legal pot is crap and they charge way too much money for it.”

Another man taking orders at the makeshift operation on Harbord St., who refused to give his name, maintained that marijuana is legal in Canada and criticized overzealous enforcement efforts to control the sale of the substance.

“They should stop harassing us and putting up these cement blocks. Pot is legal in Canada. There are rapists, murderers and criminals in the city. They should go after them and mind those businesses,” said the man.

Since marijuana was legalized last October, the city has stepped up its efforts to clamp down on illegal operators, with the number dropping from nearly 40 to approximately 10.

Last week, law enforcement officials erected the concrete blocks in front of entrances at four CAFE shops across the city to physically bar people from accessing the premises. On Thursday, the barriers were removed at the 104 Harbord St. location, west of Spadina Ave., and the shop briefly resumed business before the city installed the barriers a second time.

On Saturday, after dropping by several other now-closed illegal pot shops downtown, Mike, a recreational user who declined to give his last name, arrived at CAFE’s Harbord St. location in searing heat after hearing in the news that passersby could order and pick up weed on the spot. One woman taking orders was overheard saying delivery is free with purchases over $100.

“As far as I know, cannabis is legal in Canada. How can they have the right to put these blocks in front of someone’s business?” said Mike as he waited for his $120 order of marijuana. “I’m getting it at half the price here than at the legal shops. The quality of weed is as good if not better here.”

On Saturday, Toronto police also responded to a complaint at 66 Fort York Blvd. about people allegedly selling drugs outside the location of one of the closed-down CAFE shops. Police said a man was found in possession of packaged cannabis, money, a debit machine and a radio. Yehia Youssef faces two charges of unlawful sale and distribution under the Cannabis Control Act, police said.