Mayor John Tory is asking Toronto’s bylaw enforcement agency to help crack down on illegal marijuana dispensaries in the city.

In an open letter sent to Tracey Cook Thursday, Executive Director of the city’s Municipal Licensing and Standards department, Tory said the speed at which the dispensaries are opening and the concentration of them in some areas of the city is “alarming.”

“I would ask that you employ, in conjunction with the Toronto Police Service, whatever enforcement mechanisms are currently available to you, to address the health and safety concerns of neighbours and businesses in the communities where these marijuana dispensaries are currently operating unlawfully,” he said in the letter.

Tory said he will ask the licensing and standards committee to support a “review of the current operations of marijuana dispensaries” but in the meantime, Tory said he wants Cook to work with the Toronto Police Service to enforce current laws prohibiting the businesses from operating.

On April 20, Ottawa said it would seek to introduce legislation to legalize marijuana in 2017.

There are currently about 100 marijuana dispensaries operating in the city, according to the website TO Dispensaries.

This is despite the fact that only licensed producers authorized by Health Canada are legally able to sell marijuana in Canada. In Ontario, there are currently just 18 licensed producers.

"The proliferation of these so-called medical marijuana dispensaries is not responsive to a massive increase of bonafied prescriptions issued by doctors to people who were not previously ill," Tory added on Thursday afternoon.

Chris Cardozo, part owner of the Toronto Holistic Cannabinoids shop in Kensington Market, said he believes there is a medical need for cannabis shops in Toronto.

"The medical need is there. The government started a program and we've kind of taken it over, but it's what works," Cardozo said. "We're part of the community here now, part of the BIA. I think we're welcome here. I think they should take that into consideration."

Tory's letter to Cook comes less than a week after he showed up unnanounced at a dispensary in Kensington Market. He said he wanted to see the business for himself and ask staff there questions about how it operates.

He later told reporters that the proliferation of pot dispensaries in Toronto may already be 'out of control.'

Though Tory said that the city respects the federal government’s decision, he said the city has a responsibility to not ignore the rising number of illegal dispensaries and instead must offer “leadership on the issue.”

“Left unaddressed, the number of these dispensaries will only increase. This proliferation brings with it potential health risks for individuals who patronize dispensaries where the substance for sale is completely unregulated,” he said. “It also affects surrounding businesses and communities who have valid concerns that must be addressed – in particular, concerns about access by minors.”

In his letter to Cook, Tory there’s an “urgency” to the situation and that he wants the report on marijuana dispensary regulations completed by June.