Police in Saint John, New Brunswick are trying a new tactic to eradicate illicit cannabis dispensaries: target their landlords.

Multiple landlords are reported to have received letters informing them that their properties are being used as an “instrument of unlawful activity” and giving them a specific time frame to comply with provincial law or face property seizure under the Civil Forfeiture Act.

The controversial act, created almost a decade ago, allows police to petition the provincial Attorney General to seize, shut down and sell a property that he or she suspects is being used to run an illegal business, such as an unlicensed dispensary or underground casino. The law has been decried by critics as unjust and rife for abuse.

Law enforcement officers can start the process based on suspicion, and the onus is on the property owner to prove that he or she was either unaware of any illegal activity, or that there was none to begin with.

Police spokesman Jim Hennessy told CBC News the letters have been sent to multiple property owners in Saint John, but did not specify the exact number.

Authorities hope the tactic will reduce grey market cannabis operators by making it tougher for them to find and/or keep rental spaces, as well as putting pressure on owners to issue termination notices or refuse to rent to illicit operators.

Authorities hope the tactic will reduce grey market cannabis operators by making it tougher for them to find and/or keep rental spaces / Photo: KatarzynaBialasiewicz/iStock/Getty Images Plus KatarzynaBialasiewicz / iStock / Getty Images Plus

Cannabis can currently only be legally sold in New Brunswick by Cannabis NB, a Crown corporation that the province is trying to unload onto the private sector.

Finance minister Ernie Steeves, who announced the move to privatize last week, blamed Cannabis NB’s failure on a variety of factors, including “the prices,” alleged “terrible problems with Health Canada,” supply issues, expensive store leases and the illicit market, regarding which he argued that Health Canada wasn’t cracking down.