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Growing pains continue for Sask.’s pot industry: licences and supplies

Like many other of the pot outlets in the province, Regina’s only operating cannabis store has run into supply problems.

From the REGINA LEADER-POST link to article November 21, 2018

The SLGA has offered to meet with Muscowpetung First Nation that is operating an unlicensed cannabis retail store. TIJANA MARTIN/ THE CANADIAN PRESS

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Following a terse condemnation by the provincial government, the Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority (SLGA) has offered to meet with a First Nation that is operating a cannabis store, without a provincial licence but with permission of the band.

In a two-page letter addressed to Chief Anthony Cappo of Muscowpetung Saulteaux Nation, SLGA regulatory services division vice-president Fiona Cribb said the SLGA and provincial government officials would be willing to meet with the First Nation to discuss its cannabis store, but stopped short of threatening any action.

In response to media requests, the province released a copy of the letter on Monday.

The dispensary opened on the reserve, located south of Fort Qu’Appelle, on Nov. 13.

Chief Cappo has said the First Nation has a sovereign right to pass its own cannabis regulations.

The provincial Justice Minister Don Morgan has called the store illegal because the federal government delegates jurisdiction over cannabis sales to the provinces.

Most of the letter outlines the legal framework of how cannabis dispensaries are licensed in the province. The letter says it is the SLGA’s view that the laws surrounding cannabis retail stores also applies to reserve land.

“Cannabis that is produced for commercial sale by anyone who does not hold a federal license under the federal Cannabis Act is illicit and cannot legally be possessed or sold anywhere in Canada,” reads the letter.

Last week, the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations (FSIN) threw its support behind Muscowpetung, and said the provincial government would face legal battles if it chose to violate treaty rights.

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