Just a week into its opening in Okanagan Falls, a former Penticton pot shop has been vandalized with spray paint and smashed windows.
Jukka Laurio opened up his Herbal Green Apothecary in Okanagan Falls about a week ago, he said, with the hopes of putting to rest legal action from the City of Penticton over the Penticton location.
Until Wednesday night, he said the community has been fairly welcoming from the get-go.
Related: Penticton pot store moved to Okanagan Falls
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“Apparently overnight somebody smashed the windows and spray painted on the windows and that was pretty well it,” he said. “Spray painting ‘you’re a goof, f*** off, we don’t want you here.'”
The spray paint also called him a “pedo,” referring to an old criminal conviction against Laurio, “from way back when; probably before these people were born.”
“Apparently I have people that don’t like me. They don’t know me, but they don’t like me,” he said.
It’s not the first time opening a new shop has caused some graffiti — in fact, in January 2016, when Laurio first opened up shop in Penticton, he was subject to a firebombing with a molotov cocktail.
Related: RCMP seeking suspects in arson attempt
“Penticton was the same thing. When I first opened up, windows were smashed a couple times, we were firebombed,” he said. “You get new windows. You clean it up, you get new windows and carry on. Nothing really changes. Nothing is actually accomplished by this thing other than people get extra work and some door company gets a whole bunch of business.”
Laurio said there was an opportune moment Wednesday evening, as he had yet to set up security cameras — something he was setting up on Thursday — and there was a power outage in the neighbourhood, killing the light outside.
“Once we get the security cameras up and running, there’ll be less chance of this, because we just got the lights in there, but they had a blackout power outage last night, so it was pitch dark,” he said. “We’ll get the security up like the other place; same as usual.”
Laurio said the RCMP can be called and there will be some extra patrols in the area, but with no cameras and no lights to illuminate the vandals at the time, he’s likely out of luck.
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