The owner of the shuttered Medical Marijuana Dispensary in Langley has informed the courts that he will insist on a jury when his drug possession case goes to trial.
Randy Caine made the demand during a brief appearance in Surrey Provincial Court on Wednesday (Jan. 11).
Caine was charged with one count of possession for the purpose of trafficking after the RCMP raided the Langley City dispensary on July 19.
Officers seized more than eight pounds of marijuana and what an RCMP release described as “a large quantity of marijuana products, including cookies and candies” from the dispensary.
Caine said he was not trafficking in drugs, but providing a needed service to people with genuine medical issues like chronic pain and anxiety who can be helped by marijuana.
“I really feel I’m innocent.”
Caine said the dispensary has not distributed any marijuana since the police raid and will remain shut down while his case is before the courts.
“I would hope that this leads to the re-opening of the dispensary,” he said.
The dispensary was operated to serve people with medical conditions who would otherwise have to buy more expensive product from criminals, Caine said.
“We took all these people off the black market.”
Now, he said, customers of the dispensary are being forced to buy from dealers again.
“This is really the most tragic part of this.”
His next scheduled court appearance is set for Feb 8.