London police officers stand outside the London Relief Centre after it was raided on Sept. 20, 2017. (Photo by Miranda Chant, Blackburn News)

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A marijuana dispensary that didn’t require its customers to have a medical marijuana prescription has been raided by London police.

Officers searched the London Relief Centre at 691 Richmond St. at 10am on Wednesday. The dispensary, which opened earlier this month, sold marijuana to anyone as long as the customer was 19 years of age or older.

“Trafficking marijuana is still against the law and while it is illegal in Canada, we will be enforcing those laws,” said Constable Sandasha Bough, shortly after officers began their search.

Five people were arrested and charges are pending, according to police.

As of noon, officers remained on scene and had yet to remove any of the product from the shop.

Laura, who did not want to give her last name, was among the steady stream of customers who arrived at the dispensary to find it closed Wednesday. She called the police raid on the shop “ridiculous.”

“They are wasting the government’s money and time to do something like this today, where they could be out using their time to do better things,” said Laura. “I don’t really think people buying marijuana for recreational use is a big deal.”

A 20-year user of marijuana, Laura said the drug helps her cope with her bipolar disorder. She believes weed should be treated the same as alcohol, noting the constant police raids that shut down dispensaries force her to buy in a less safe environment.

“To get alcohol you walk into a store, it’s licensed by the government, you pay for it whatever. If you want to buy marijuana you’re treated like a drug addict, same as heroin or cocaine. I have to go buy it from a dealer, illegally off the street,” said Laura.

The federal government introduced legislation in April to legalize recreational marijuana by July 2018. In Ontario, the sale of the drug will be tightly controlled. Premier Kathleen Wynne announced on September 8 all sales of cannabis will be done at 150 stand-alone stores run by the LCBO.

Under the new regulation rules, private marijuana dispensaries, like the one raided on Richmond St., will be closed.