Gatineau police report bust of illicit cannabis, including drinks, chocolate and candy

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Gatineau police are warning parents to have a “frank discussion” with teens after a cannabis bust turned up illicit products including drinks, jelly beans and chocolate.

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Officers searched a home on Fontaine Street in Hull and a vehicle April 6 after a weeks-long investigation into the underground cannabis trade, Gatineau police said Wednesday. A woman in her forties was arrested. Police said officers seized 2,558 g of cannabis, 270 g of hashish and 270 g of cannabis wax.

Cannabis edibles seized included 2,938 g of jelly beans and 2,078 g of chocolate. Also found were 380 cannabis capsules, 2.8 litres of cannabis drinks and 416 ml of concentrate, and 177 g of psilocybin, police said. Pepper spray, brass knuckles, a weapon combining brass knuckles and a knife and an electrical pulse weapon were also seized, plus a Mitsubishi-model vehicle worth about £30,000, police said.

The woman will face charges including production of cannabis, distribution of cannabis for the purpose of sale, sale of cannabis, possession of a substance and possession of a prohibited weapon.

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Illicit cannabis products like jujubes, chocolate or vaporizers periodically turn up at Gatineau high schools, police said, warning they expose teens to health risks. Parents should talk to youth about the dangers of the products, which are made in clandestine laboratories and can contain widely varying amounts of active ingredients, even from package to package of the same product, police said. They also pose a particular danger to young children if packaging makes them look like candy.

Gatineau police have had a team of three investigators working to find and dismantle illegal cannabis distribution networks since early 2019, the force said.

A weapon seized by Gatineau police in and seizure of cannabis and cannabis products. Photo by Gatineau police /Handout