The open-air illegal pot market in Robson Square offers up weed, joints and baked goods containing THC. It’s all easily accessible to anyone who wants to purchase the drugs, but vendors claim they ID anyone who looks underage.
The McLaughlin on Your Side team wanted to put that claim to the test, with the help of a 17-year-old who was willing to go undercover with the permission of her parents.
When we asked people walking down the street how old they thought our volunteer looked, most said 16 or 17, much younger than the 19-year minimum age limit that will be set in place once pot is legalized in the province. But would the pot vendors think the same and ID her?
The volunteer, who will not be named because of her age, showed interest in the baked edibles at the first table she approached.
“How much are the brownies?” she questioned.
“$5 each,” said the vendor.
“Could I grab a few brownies?” she asked. Then she looked in her wallet and realized she had no cash.
“There’s a TD right over there,” offered the vendor, not seeming concerned about her age.
“Perfect,” she replied as she walked away, saying she would come back.
When Ross McLaughlin approached the vendor, she said she thought the teen looked 19.
“Would it surprise you to know she is 17?” asked McLaughlin.
“Yeah, actually it would because she came up with a bunch of people with ID that said 19,” explained the vendor.
But that wasn’t the case. Our video clearly showed when the teen approached the table, there was no one else around showing ID.
And the man who pointed her to the ATM?
“We always ask right away when we’re doing the money, whatnot. We always ask for ID, always,” he said. “I just hadn’t asked yet.”
At the second table the teen approached, she asked about the Nanaimo bars.
“They’re 200 milligrams and they’re $5,” said the vendor.
“I’m just going to go grab my cash and I’ll be back. Thank you,” she replied.
Again, no questions were asked to see her ID.
After the teen left, McLaughlin approached the table to see why the vendor never asked her about her age.
“She didn’t buy anything,” said the woman.
Still, other vendors were very up front.
“You gotta be 19 or over,” said one pot seller.
“Are you of age?” asked another vendor who wasn’t taking chances. “Personally, you look too much like a high school kid. My daughter actually got into my edibles a long time ago [and she had] a 26-hour anxiety attack.”
We don’t know whether the vendors who didn’t ID the teen would have actually sold to her because in order not to break the law, she didn’t go through with any transaction. But that doesn’t mean other minors haven’t gotten their hands on the drugs.
"We have actually turned away people and they've gone somewhere else and bought and I have made a huge stink about it," explained one vendor.
What do you think about the potential for minors to purchase drugs from this open air market? Send us an email at mclaughlinonyourside@ctv.ca and let us know how you feel.
