Justin was paying at the counter of his local dispensary when he says about four masked men - one with a gun - burst through the door, screaming for him to get on the ground.

The alleged holdup happened around 10 p.m. Dec. 21 at the Canna Clinic on Ossington Ave. according to Justin, who said police told him not to publish his full name in the interest of his own safety.

About 20 customers and eight staff flattened themselves to the ground as the robbers cleaned the dispensary out of cash and marijuana, Justin said.

“I was petrified,” he said. “Everything was stripped when they were gone.”

When the ordeal was over, Justin said he left, assuming staff would call the police. But when he went by Thursday morning, he was surprised to find that wasn’t the case.

When he asked about the robbery at the counter, he said the staff either claimed they didn’t know about a robbery or denied outright that it had happened. After an employee finally admitted that a robbery had taken place, Justin said he asked if they’d called the police.

The employee responded, “‘no comment,’” said Justin.

So Justin and a friend who does not want to be identified and was with him during the alleged robbery reported the incident to police themselves.

Toronto defence lawyer Paul Lewin says that recent police raids on storefront pot dispensaries across Toronto are creating a situation where dispensary operators are left without the police protection they deserve.

“It’s kind of like we’re saying you don’t deserve the protection of society because you’re involved with a dispensary. That’s the effect of it,” Lewin said.

In May, Toronto police started cracking down on storefront marijuana dispensaries, raiding 43 shops and laying drug charges against close to 90 people.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, meanwhile, has pledged to introduce legislation in 2017 that will legalize and regulate the sale of marijuana.

The Toronto raids continued in August, when a dispensary operated by prominent pot-legalization advocates Marc and Jodie Emery, was shut down.

Lewin, whose website says he specializes in “cannabis law,” said these raids are creating a climate of fear that pushes the soon-to-be-legal pot business into dangerous shadows.

“With the dispensary crackdown I’m hearing about dispensaries having to go farther underground,” Lewin said.

“Now instead of having a storefront they’re on the second floor, or they’re down a back alley or you have to know someone to get it.”

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It makes the whole thing less transparent, and less safe, Lewin said.

Canna Clinic is part of a chain with locations in Ontario and British Columbia. Staff answering the phones at two Toronto Canna Clinic locations refused to answer The Star’s questions about the alleged hold up.

Though perhaps the dispensary didn’t want police attention after this summer’s raids, Justin said he believes staying silent would put other customers at risk. If law enforcement doesn’t get involved, he said, what’s to stop the robbers from coming back?

“What if someone got hurt or something went wrong, who knows?” he said.

“This is my neighbourhood, this is my community. I want to feel safe… We’re talking guns here.”

Toronto Police Services spokeswoman Caroline de Kloet confirmed that Canna Clinic had not reported a robbery Wednesday night, but that someone who said they witnessed one had come forward since. De Kloet said police are still trying to confirm whether or not it had actually taken place.

Police said they canvassed Canna Clinic and nearby businesses looking for security footage.

In light of the alleged robbery and the store’s silence, Justin said he feels as if a regular drug dealer might be safer than the dispensary - ironic, considering safety was one of the reasons he started going to Canna Clinic in the first place.

“I don’t think I will (go back),” he said.

“I don’t like that. It gives me bad vibes now.”

With files from Jesse Winter

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