CANNABIS CULTURE – A Toronto location of Cannabis As Living Medicine (C.A.L.M.) Compassion Club was raided by police at about 3pm, Wednesday, March 31, according to trusted sources in the area.

“We know so far that over the last hour police are all over the Queens St. location,” Chris Goodwin, manager of Toronto’s Vapor Central, told Cannabis Culture after the raid started. “They’re in the alleys, in the building – a patient that tried to go in was told it was being raided and under police control, and that he couldn’t get his medicine there. Some of the cops were saying rude comments.”

Goodwin said that many of C.A.L.M.’s staff members have been arrested. “It was check day, so all staff were in, and they had the most product as today is the busiest day,” he said.

C.A.L.M. is one of the oldest medical cannabis clubs in Canada, established in 1996. C.A.L.M.’s website states that the organization is a “peer-run organization that provides almost 2,000 Canadians living with severe or chronic illnesses with safe and continuous access to medicinal cannabis in a safe empowering environment. […] Currently, C.A.L.M. is a superior dispenser of medical cannabis that functions like a wellness centre. C.A.L.M. is open seven days a week in order to provide clients with consistent and reliable access to medical cannabis.”

UPDATE: Release issued to C.A.L.M. members

ATTENTION CALM MEMBERS: Earlier this afternoon our downtown location was raided. Although we are still piecing together the information, at this time we are temporarily closed. We will hopefully be resuming our services in the coming days so please check this forum regularly for further information. We may be organizing a pro-CALM community gathering in the coming week, your attendance would mean a lot to everyone and the medical cannabis community as a whole. We thank you for your concern and appreciate your continued support. If we stand together nobody can take our club away from us. We’ll be seeing you again really soon,

CALM

UPDATE: Message from a club member

FORW: from MAD: Today I was at C.A.L.M when it got raided by the police. I’m very livid about this because of the treatment of the staff that I seen. punchnig a handcuffed man when he’s cooperating and complying. Now what? What do we do how can we help those who help us? I want answers and want to do something about this this is a omplete outrage of our rights as Canadians. I hope those guys I seen getting hurt by police are okay. Can someone shed some light on this and what to do next? Thanks a bunch

UPDATE – Thursday, April 1, 4:42pm

Update from CALM:

Hello CALM members, I am pleased to inform you that almost all of our volunteers have been released from police custody (and the last will be out momentarily). We will be giving you more information as soon as we have it. In the mean time we are asking members to share their opinions of the situation and to tell us how the police activity has negatively impacted you and your health. All of our stories will be used to help out CALM and our volunteers in their struggle with the law and help us reopen as soon as possible. We need to show the city that CALM is a helpful part of the community and that we help better peoples’ lives. The volunteers are just members who were willing to put in a few hours a week to help support the club we love. Lets show them our appreciation and our mutual love for CALM and its role in our lives. The deepest of thanks,

Ben and the CALM family.

More from CALM release yesterday:

At approximately 3 p.m. this afternoon, 51 Division officers raided a medical cannabis resource and support centre. C.A.L.M. has provided support for patients with debilitating illnesses that range from AIDS, cancer, glaucoma and MS for years. The police arrested 9 individuals found on site and confiscated their medication. The Queen St. location was targeted despite the fact that all individuals in question had federal licenses to possess, store and/or cultivate medical cannabis.

CHECK HERE for updates as more info becomes available.