Unregulated cannabis shops in Cambridge test the boundaries of police and the federal government while undercutting provincially licensed stores
From Cambridge Today by Joe McGinty June 21 2024
A cannabis store has popped up in Cambridge that is not like the others in town; its product is stronger, cheaper and not bound by government restrictions.
This shop has been able to fly under the radar for months, due to the fact the owners are Indigenous and believe they are operating on “sovereign land.”
One of the employees of Sovereign Toke on King Street East in Preston said that they won’t get shut down because they aren’t technically breaking the law.
“Those other shops that are getting shut down are selling tobacco products and that’s what gets them,” said Cody, a worker at Sovereign Toke who didn’t want CambridgeToday to use his last name.
“If the cops came and shut us down it would open up a can of worms they aren’t ready for.”
Another unregulated drug shop in Preston, psilocybin sellers ‘FunGuyz’, is only a few hundred meters down the street from Sovereign Toke’s front door.
But the magic mushroom shop has been raided nearly 10 times since its opening last year with those working there criminally charged with selling the illegal drug multiple times.
Cody said the difference between the two is the cannabis shop is Indigenously owned and operates on Indigenous land as recognized by the Haldimand Tract Treaty. The agreement says six miles (9 km) on either side of the Grand River is Six Nations land.
“If they were to take us to court, it would be the first time the six miles was tested and if they lost they would have to move everyone past the boundary. It would be a mess,” he said.
Waterloo Regional Police Service was not immediately available for comment when asked why Sovereign Toke hasn’t been raided.
In the Niagara region, OPP officers recently shut down six illegal cannabis shops under the name “Indige Smoke,” seizing more than $640,000 in illegal cannabis and illegal cannabis products, more than $350,000 in contraband tobacco and multiple firearms.
Eleven individuals were also arrested and charged with 34 different offences.
“Cannabis remains a lucrative commodity for criminal networks. The Provincial Joint Forces Cannabis Enforcement Team is focused on disrupting and charging criminal networks involved in the illegal cannabis trade in Ontario,” said OPP detective inspector Anne Goodwin, Organized Crime Enforcement Bureau.
“Not only is it against the law to sell or purchase illegal cannabis, but consumers are faced with health risks that come from using untested and unregulated products.”
The Cambridge store does not abide by the same regulations as other cannabis shops in the province set by the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO). This sees them buy and sell stronger products for less than the Ontario Cannabis Store.
In Ontario, the maximum dosage of the psychoactive compound in cannabis, tetrahydrocannabinol or THC, that’s allowed in one package under AGCO rules is 10mg. On the shelves at Sovereign Toke, some packages contain 10 edibles at 300mg each, or 3,000mg a package.
Other local cannabis shops like True North Cannabis right down the road from Sovereign Toke have to buy their product through the provincially regulated Ontario Cannabis Store.
According to True North’s website, 10mg of edibles costs $10 plus taxes; meanwhile, at Sovereign Toke, 400mg of edibles are the same price at $10.
In a previous interview with CambridgeToday, True North Cannabis Co. president Corry Van Iersel, complained that this single source of products saturates the market prohibiting a diversity of inventory.
This allows non-regulated shops to sell products that are unique to that single store, something that Cody thinks is necessary for the survival of the “legal market.”
He also adds that, unlike the magic mushroom shop down the road, Sovereign Toke is on the path to being recognized by the Six Nations council and this could pave the way for other shops to open within the Haldimand Tract.
The Six Nations Cannabis Commission was created in 2021 with the sole purpose of licensing and registering cannabis shops and distributors within the Six Nations’ territory.
“We buy all of our products from Indigenous growers and sellers,” Cody added. “There is nowhere else like this.”
Comments are closed.