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police raid of a downtown café has some pot-loving Torontonians crying foul.
The Kindred Café in the Yonge and College area was busted up Thursday night. Most of the establishment's furniture was seized in the process. Two people were arrested and summonses were issued to four more, but spokesperson Chad Cooke says he doesn't see what all the fuss is about.
"People are going to use marijuana in particular medicinally, and they're going to use it recreationally, so we don't understand what the problem is with providing an area where they can do that," he said.
And the fact is the Kindred Cafe isn't the only place in Toronto where people go to smoke dope.
There's the Vapour Lounge as well as the Hot Box Cafe in Kensington Market.
A frequenter of the Kindred, Matt Menargh says he uses Marijuana to control his pain.
"I'm here almost everyday," he admitted, standing out in the cold in front Friday night. "If you're a medicinal marijuana user, there's nowhere you can go to use your medicine."
What about home?
"They don't have that interaction at home and they may not have it anywhere else," insists Cooke. "So we provide that safe haven."
But the safe haven has now become a police target.
And those cops say they raided the Kindred Cafe after receiving complaints from the community.
Officers also allege not only did they remove the furniture, but confiscated a large quantity of marijuana.
Arrests Made, Pot Paraphernalia Seized As Downtown Coffee Shop Raided