WAHNAPITAE ANISHINABEK TERRITORY – Some 45 minutes north west of Sudbury, Ontario, deep in a forest of birch trees nestled along the shores of picturesque Lake Wahnapitae, sits Creator’s Choice, the premier indigenous cannabis dispensary in Northern Ontario. Owned and operated as a family business by Derek Roque and his…
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“We have not been able to access a safe legal supply of cannabis because we were left out of the federal legislation,” Chief McLeod said.
Hundreds of delegates will gather to engage on the latest information and research relating to First Nations and cannabis, including key issues in areas like jurisdiction over sales and regulation, health impacts, social development impacts and economics.
Canada’s indigenous peoples, known as First Nations, want to get in on the legal cannabis action — or, in some cases, to continue to prohibit marijuana, in spite of federal legalization.
Beausoleil First Nation council looking into creating own cannabis laws: A cannabis survey has been released online in an attempt to get BFN members’ thoughts around cannabis and if the local First Nation should develop some laws of their own.
A brand-new cannabis retail store on Penticton Indian Band land could be short lived, since it does not have a provincial licence to operate and the government has confirmed it will be cracking down on illegal shops.
The Province of Ontario exercised authority outside of its jurisdiction by issuing eight cannabis retail licenses to First Nations communities. The Cannabis Act has downgraded the autonomy of First Nations to maintain jurisdiction and create laws
Nipissing First Nation Chief Scott McLeod said when it comes to his community’s laws regarding cannabis, “or any other law for that matter,” they are “paramount to any other law outside of our community.”
The federal government's lead minister on the cannabis file has been in talks with First Nations leaders over how to carve out First Nations jurisdiction over the cannabis industry on their territories.
The Mohawk Council of Akwesasne is accepting applications for licences to produce or sell now-legal cannabis but licensing on the Mohawk Territory remains a work in progress.