Former Regina pot shop owner vows to reopen after charges stayed

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Pat Warnecke fought the law.

And as far as criminal charges related to his former unlicensed pot shop are concerned, that fight ended on March 11.

On that date, the Crown stayed all remaining charges against Warnecke and Justin Seeman, who also once operated a storefront cannabis dispensary.

“We knew we were winning. I mean, we had the truth on our side,” Warnecke said in a recent interview.

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But for the 45-year-old, “winning” is a nuanced term. By the time the Crown finally stopped pursuing its case against him, perhaps he’d already been punished by the process itself.

“At the end of the day, they’ve still ruined our life,” Warnecke said.

The saga resulted in extreme financial stress for him that continues now, as he struggles to get a bank account or a loan, despite the fact that the charges against him were stayed.

“For somebody that’s fighting for patients’ rights and people’s rights in Canada, that’s atrocious.”

Warnecke has represented many things to many people.

To some, he was a loud, dope-dealing scofflaw. The nail sticking up that needed to be hammered down.

To others, he was a medicine man. A truth-teller turned freedom fighter. The little guy that stood up against big government and big business.

To many, he was simply a curiosity who tested the boundaries of the law and made headlines for a time.

His defiance as an unlicensed pot shop owner has been well documented. In 2018, before the federal legalization of cannabis, his shop Best Buds Society was among those raided during a crackdown by the Regina Police Service, which was preceded by a police warning.

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After police put out a warrant for his arrest, Warnecke turned himself in and faced charges, including possessing cannabis for the purpose of trafficking.

What happened next was a protracted court battle, in which Warnecke’s case was rolled in with those of two other pot shop operators — Seeman and Jerry Matthew Martin. However, most of the substantive advancements in the case were covered by a publication ban, which has now been lifted. Reporting on the outcome of the case against the men was further delayed by a court process that slowed access to relevant documents.

Proceedings were still ongoing in summer of 2023 when Martin died of a reported overdose.

“Jerry might have been a little rough around the edges, but his heart was huge,” Warnecke said. “He gave it his all to help people have access to these medicines.”

Warnecke said Martin knew the “only way forward” for some people was access to cannabis products. The sentiment aligns with his own stated views about cannabis and his outlook on issues like health and addiction.

“We were standing up for patients’ rights and what’s good for the community. We were providing harm reduction and safe access for people that needed access to these plant medicines.”

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The legal case against Warnecke and the others took a few major turns. One was the Oct. 21, 2022 decision of Court of King’s Bench Justice Beverly Klatt, following a constitutional challenge brought by the accused.

The judge found that certain sections of former regulations governing the sale of cannabis were unconstitutional.

Following this, and Martin’s passing, the other accused men sought a stay of proceedings from the judge on the basis that their rights had been violated.

In short, the judge disagreed with the accused men, finding that because neither had been licensed to distribute or sell cannabis, “none of their actions that resulted in the charges being laid would’ve been permissible even with the declarations of unconstitutionality.”

Klatt found that a judicial stay would not be appropriate.

“However, because the entire regulatory regime has been reformed and the public’s view of cannabis has changed, a reduction in sentence, perhaps even a discharge, may be appropriate,” she wrote in her July 10, 2023 decision.

Little else is noted on the court file before the Crown indicated in February of this year that it would be prepared to direct a stay of proceedings, which it did the month following.

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And little explanation was given by the Crown when asked about the reason for the stay, which is not uncommon.

According to a March 15 email from federal prosecutor Brian Smith, the prosecution was stayed in accordance with Public Prosecution Service of Canada policy requiring continual assessment of “whether there is a reasonable prospect of conviction and public interest in continuing prosecutions.” 

“If both elements are not present, the proceedings are discontinued. As no reasons were provided on the record, we have no further information to provide,” the email stated.

While the Crown might not have had much to say, Warnecke certainly did.

Although he characterized the conclusion of the case by saying “we beat their pants off,” it was clear during his recent interview that he was still angry.

He felt bullied by authorities, who he suggested were trying to “clear the way for the corrupt corporate cannabis system.” He still questions the process by which applicants were selected for cannabis retail licences in Saskatchewan.

He links the shutting down of his business and others like it to an increase in overdoses. Undoubtedly, overdose deaths in Saskatchewan spiked drastically in the years following the police raids on illicit cannabis dispensaries, but this occurred despite the opening of an abundance of licensed pot shops, following legalization.

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Warnecke feels that corporations “stole” the cannabis industry from people like him — an industry he says is now failing, while charging more than folks can afford for what he considers to be the medicines they need.

To that end, he spoke zealously about his continued efforts to forward the idea of “plant medicine.” It’s a topic he frames with a particular reverence.

He said he’s helped Indigenous peoples with creating their own regulations around cannabis and with opening “sovereign” dispensaries.

He spoke about there being “opportunities” for cannabis in many different countries where people are “looking to us for answers.” However, not all opportunities he spoke of were necessarily far afield.

“I am in talks right now about opening up Best Buds again,” he said.

He wouldn’t offer the “secrets or the details,” but noted he’d learned from the court case.

He said an “addictions crisis” involving drugs like fentanyl is “crushing our society,” and he feels that his services could make a positive difference.

“So, we hope to come back,” he said.

But then he corrected himself, choosing more definitive language.

“We are coming back.”

— with files from the Vancouver Sun

bharder@postmedia.com

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