Mark Hauk, the 36-year-old owner of Saskatoon's unlicensed medical marijuana dispensary, has been charged with drug trafficking and released on $1,000 bail after appearing in Saskatoon Provincial Court on Friday morning.

Speaking with reporters after he emerged from court mid-day on Friday, Hauk called the Saskatoon Police Service "gutless" for the manner in which they handled his arrest and charges.

"The actions the Saskatoon Police Service took yesterday were nothing short of shameful and gutless," he said. "I have had two meetings with Chief Weighill over the last three weeks, which he has postponed on me."

A Saskatoon police spokeswoman could not confirm that was the case.

4 arrests made in raid

Canada’s Liberal Party victory for cannabis means that legalization is all but a sure thing. We sat down with Jodie Emery, known as the "Pot Princess of Vancouver," who runs Cannabis Culturewith her husband Mark, to discuss what the future holds for cannabis in Canada, as well as what’s in store for Cannabis Culture.

RCMP in two provinces have seized more than $232,000 in cash, nearly 100 kilograms of marijuana and 14 vehicles after a huge drug bust following an extensive investigation.

Operation Hagrid was a five-month investigation targeting a suspected drug trafficking network between the Vancouver area and Eastern and Atlantic Canada including:

• Toronto
• Montreal
• Halifax
• St. John's

Investigators found that people were taking commercial flights and transporting large quantities of marijuana and cash in checked bags. 

"These individuals had an established network operating a sophisticated drug distribution chain that has ties to organized crime," Nova Scotia RCMP Insp. Mike Payne in a news release. 

“Big Mike” Straumietis, founder and CEO of Advanced Nutrients, has a life story that sounds like it’s been pulled from the pages of a crime thriller – a paperback copy with bits of shake stuck inside from rolling joints. Standing at 6’7”, Straumietis towers over most people much like his personal legend towers over the company he runs.

His 37 years as a cultivator saw him flying planes to scout grow locations, using police scanners and night vision goggles to harvest his crops, living under seven different assumed identities in the states and Canada and squaring off with a biker gang bent on cutting into his profits, to name just a few highlights.

The doors were locked at the Saskatchewan Compassion Club and four people were arrested after a police investigation into Saskatoon's first medical marijuana dispensary.

Two Saskatoon men - ages 24 and 36 - along with two Saskatoon women - ages 23 and 39 - were arrested as part of what police dubbed Project Fextern. Search warrants were executed Thursday around 10:30 a.m. at a home in the 400 block of 109th Street West and the dispensary in the 200 block of Second Avenue North.

According to Insp. Dave Haye, the investigation dates back to September.

"It has nothing to do with any politics," Haye said at a Thursday press conference.

Haye maintained that while the club was acting as a legitimate business, it was acting illegally.

A drug bust near the north Perimeter netted police more than $86,000 worth of marijuana.

On Wednesday, Winnipeg police executed a search warrant at a residence in the first 100 block of Mosselle Drive.

Police said as a result of the search, officers seized 66 marijuana plants with an estimated street value of $73,920 along with around five pounds of harvested marijuana with estimated at $12,500.

Additionally, officials said currency and equipment associated with a grow op were also seized.

A 59-year-old man and 52-year-old woman face charges of drug trafficking, production of substances and possessing proceeds of crime.

Both were released on a promise to appear.

Turn the MMPR into a cost recovery program, take a good hard look at the security requirements, permit storefronts, more transparency in licensing process.

Since last week’s election, I have been inundated with phone calls, emails and social media posts asking for my opinion on cannabis legalization. What will it look like (Will home grows be permitted? Will dispensaries be permitted? Will edibles be permitted? etc. etc.) When will it happen?

Well…I have absolutely no idea. There are many different scenarios that can be envisioned for legalization or decriminalization and the path to be taken by our new Liberal government remains to be seen. How quickly anything happens will be driven more by politics than anything else, I believe.

He may volunteer in his role as chief financial officer with the Liberal Party of Canada, but Chuck Rifici is in line for a big pay day, thanks to one of the party's key platforms.

Rifici, who has been a member of the Liberal national board of directors since 2011, is also the co-founder of Tweed Marijuana Inc., Canada's biggest full-scale producer of government-sanctioned pot producer, which is based in Smiths Falls, Ont.

"I'm simply a shareholder," said Rifici in an e-mail to the Sun on Wednesday.

In the midst of the recent election campaign, Rifici branched out with two new ventures.

The city has officially sent out its first round of letters ordering the closure of specific marijuana dispensaries.

But even though there are more than 90 storefronts illegally selling cannabis in Vancouver, only two were mailed letters stating they must shut their doors “immediately” or “be subject to enforcement action”.

Those locations are Quick Stop Dispensary at 2893 East Broadway and Health Lifestyle Marijuana Supply Centre at 201–1011 Commercial Drive, according to Vancouver’s chief licensing inspector, Andreea Toma.