Fisherman Cody Caplin is self-representing in a court battle over Mi’kmaq fishing rights; six days of trial are scheduled in December. CAMPBELLTON, NB – On October 12th, 2023, Mi’kmaw fisherman Cody Caplin appeared in court to fight an attempt by Crown prosecutor Denis Lavoie to summarily dismiss his constitutional challenge as “manifestly frivolous.”…
Posts published in “Dispensing Freedom”

Quebec decision on Mohawk tobacco trade a ‘game-changing advancement’ in Aboriginal law, says lawyer
Court proposes new test to determine existence of Aboriginal right based on Indigenous legal system From Canadian Lawyer Mag by Aidan Macnab November 7 2023 A Quebec court has proposed a new test for determining the existence of an Aboriginal right based on whether the right was protected in the…
Following medical cannabis legalization in 2021, the tribal police commission recently held a meeting to discuss medical cannabis cards, product transport, and the progress of their cultivation site. From High Times by Nicole Potter October 18 2023 The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI) is continuing its path toward cannabis…
From National Indigenous Times by Giovanni Torre October 12 2023 The NSW/ACT Aboriginal Legal Service has welcomed the NSW government’s new drug legislation as “a welcome step towards sensible, fair and evidence-based drug policy”, and encouraged stronger reforms. On October 12 ALS noted the proposed diversion scheme relies on police…
While some Indigenous dispensary owners have had their accounts closed for years, there seems to have been a recent uptick in financial actions taken against Indigenous entrepreneurs, almost to the point of an economic embargo. Many of these actions have taken place against individuals living in territories where Band Councils have passed by-laws acknowledging the sovereign right of their residents to cultivate and sell cannabis and where referendums and surveys have shown community support for the cannabis industry.
A spate of four dramatic robberies of ATM machines from Six Nations businesses underlines the risks facing Indigenous entrepreneurs who’ve been banned from using Canadian banks.
Audio recording reveals OPP Detectives told the Hwy 17 Dispensary and Trading Post that they would only raid if “the township does not permit it.” By Dispensing Freedom staff MASSEY – On Aug 17th, 2023, the sovereign Highway 17 Dispensary and Trading post was opened at 195 Sauble St. in…
To the media and the people of the Township of Sables-Spanish Rivers. The Hwy 17 Trading Post and Dispensary at 195 Sauble Street in Massey, Ontario represents a deliberate exercising of sovereign Anishinaabe rights on our lands. These inherent Aboriginal and treaty rights are constitutionally protected, though they have long…
A BC court has thrown out a lawsuit filed by several BC cannabis retailers who say the government has failed to enforce its own regulations. From StratCann by David Brown September 19 2023 The plaintiffs had alleged that the BC government failed to enforce its licencing requirements to shut down…