This episode originally aired on The Big Story.

To be fair, they do force it closed. But then it reopens. Sometimes the very same day. So why, nine months after legalization, can police and the City of Toronto not manage to keep CAFE’s dispensary doors shut? And why is it worth the monumental hassle on the part of the owners to keep reopening in the face of locks and bars and fines and threats?

The latest salvo occurred over the past week. Police brought in gigantic 4,000-pound cement blocks and stacked them in front of the entrances and exits of the stores. CAFE found machinery and removed them in the dead of night. Police brought them back and barred the doors. CAFE staffers started selling pot directly on the street. Why is the black market still alive and thriving almost a year after pot became legal? What are we getting wrong?

GUEST: Adrian Ghobrial, CityNews Toronto