Toronto police have shut down five pot shops in a co-ordinated raid Friday afternoon.

Police spokesman Gary Long says the drug squad charged and released eight people under the new provincial cannabis legislation.

It is only legal to buy marijuana in Ontario from the province’s online website and police Chief Mark Saunders vowed to shut down illegal dispensaries after marijuana became legal on Wednesday.

Ontario will be issuing licenses to operate dispensaries, but that system won’t be in place until April 1, 2019.

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