Vancouver cannabis store owner concerned for staff safety after attempted robbery
Global News
The owner of a Vancouver Cannabis store is concerned for his staff after an attempted armed robbery Monday night amid safety concerns around opaque glass are not being addressed.
The owner of an East Vancouver cannabis store says he’s concerned for the safety of his staff after a man armed with a gun tried to rob his store Monday night.
This is the first time Kingsway Cannabis has been hit by an attempted robbery, according to the store’s owner Charles Variboff.
“When someone has a gun that is really scary, you have no idea if it is a real gun or a replica or a starter pistol or a bb gun,” Variboff told Global News.
Luckily, no one was injured and the suspect left empty-handed but Variboff is worried this might happen again.
The store’s windows are covered by opaque film with no way to see in or out and Variboff says his staff are left feeling vulnerable to robberies.
“the last thing you want to do is wake up in the morning and go to work and think you are going to end up hurt, or worse, end up in a body bag,” Variboff said.
When cannabis was first legalized in B.C. it was a requirement to block the view of any products or sales from outside but that requirement was dropped in 2020, at least in the province, after steady pushback from the industry.
“Especially when there’s such a rise in violence around here a couple of years ago, there was a murder close by at Tatlow Park. And with the constant things happening at cannabis stores around the city we want to be able to protect our employees,” according to Kayley Nelson, General Manager of Evergreen Cannabis.
