Man arrested for opening store selling cocaine, heroin and meth

A Canadian has been arrested for opening a shop selling hard drugs (Representational image)

Police in Canada have arrested a man who opened a store selling cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine, among other hard drugs. Jerry Martin, 51, was arrested just a day after the grand opening of his shop in British Columbia, the BBC reported.

Martin opened The Drugs Store in Vancouver on Wednesday. The store, running out of a mobile trailer, offered adults the opportunity to purchase illegal drugs by showing their ID cards. Photos of the shop circulating on the internet show cocaine being sold for $90 a gram, while MDMA was listed at $75 for 1 gram.

Martin said he opened his mobile shop to offer a safe supply of drugs in a neighbourhood that has been destroyed by “the overdose epidemic,” Vice News reported. He said his drugs were all tested to ensure they did not contain fentanyl – the synthetic opioid 50 times stronger than heroin which contributes to a majority of overdose deaths.

The 51-year-old added that the idea of opening a drugs store came to him after Canada decriminalised the possession of small quantities of hard drugs in British Columbia.

Vancouver Police confirmed a man was arrested Thursday for drug trafficking “in connection with an illicit drug dispensary that began operating yesterday in the Downtown Eastside.”

“We support measures aimed at improving public safety for people who use drugs, including harm reduction services and decriminalization,” police said in a press release. “However, we remain committed in our position that drug trafficking will continue to be the subject of enforcement.”