After four separate incidences of vandalism in March, the owner of downtown Sechelt's 420 Hemp Shop is considering closing his shop for good.
"This is going to put me out of business," said Danny Owsnett, who founded the store on Cowrie Street in 2002. Damages incurred by broken windows and doors and merchandise stolen cost Owsnett an estimated $6,000 last month.
"We've had the same window broken three times, and the same door broken three times," he said. The first break and enter occurred on March 6 and was followed by a second attempt 13 days later. Then rocks were smashed through the store windows on March 23 and 28. Sunshine Coast RCMP Const. Peter Cucheran, who is investigating the case, said the hemp shop is "possibly being targeted" but said it's unclear whether the incidents are connected to other recent vandalism in the downtown core, such as rocks smashed through windows at the Sunshine Coast Credit Union on March 24.
The only prior incident of vandalism at the store took place in October 2007, said Owsnett, who resigned as a director of the Sechelt Downtown Business Association last week, citing stress over the recent crimes.
"I came out of retirement to do this," he said. "I'm HIV positive, and I started the shop thinking I could make a difference, as there are many medical marijuana users on the Coast. Maybe it's someone's perception of what they think we do here."
The store sells hemp clothing, edible hemp seeds and hemp oil, and marijuana smoking paraphernalia, but no actual pot. Owsnett said he held off from establishing a compassion club - an illegal means of supplying medical pot to those with a doctor's recommendation for it - when he opened the business, instead focusing on helping individuals to attain Health Canada exemptions allowing them to use medical marijuana. Owsnett said the stress caused by the vandalism is compounded by the fact he struggles with a mental illness.
"This has put me right on edge," he said.
Sunshine Coast RCMP currently have no suspects. Anyone with information is encouraged to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477). All tips are fully anonymous.
