Stephanie Taylor, The Canadian Press Published Thursday, February 28, 2019 2:30PM EST REGINA — A First Nation operating a cannabis dispensary without a provincial permit has laid the groundwork for taking the federal and Saskatchewan governments to court. The Muscowpetung First Nation filed a statement of claim in Regina Court of…
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BY DAVID SOMMERSTEIN (REPORTER/ASST. NEWS DIRECTOR) Feb 24, 2019 — Tensions flared in Akwesasne Friday night over the sale of recreational marijuana. Mohawk police shut down a dispensary on the Canadian side of the territory for the second time in a month. But the clash is symptomatic of deeper divisions in the…
Over 300 delegates attended the second National Indigenous Cannabis and Hemp Conference (NICHC) held on the unceded territory of the Algonquins of Pikwakanagan on February 19-20, 2019.
by Alan S. Hale, Standard Freeholder, February 23, 2019 AWKESASNE — The Mohawk Council of Akwesasne (MCA) is pleading for calm after a protest in front of the Akwesasne Mohawk Police Service headquarters became violent on Friday night, resulting in a police SUV to be stolen by protesters and burned on…
Reversing drug prohibition and legalizing cannabis is a historic feat. But as Boyd points out, before we turn the chapter, drug prohibition needs to be “understood as a social justice and human rights issue. The question is how will the government address the historic violence and injustice of drug prohibition?”…
Medicine Wheel was the first cannabis dispensary to open on Alderville’s “Mashkiki Trail” or “Green Mile.” It is a state-of-the-art dispensary, testing site, and production facility established by Alderville First Nation member Rob Stevenson. Inspired by the growth of cannabis dispensaries in nearby Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory, Medicine Wheel opened its doors on June 21st, 2017.
One Mohawk elder is questioning the validity of bring marijuana to his people.
“It is not in our culture, it is not in our traditions to use something like (cannabis). We call those substances mind-changers,” says Kenneth Deer, a member of the Kahnawake Longhouse. “We’re fine with the use of cannabis for medicinal purposes, but not recreational.” Deer is a Mohawk traditionalist and views the…
The Mohawk community will now move forward with its own plan to license and regulate the sale of cannabis within its borders. The South Shore community rejected Ottawa’s cannabis legislation earlier this month, opting instead to create its own laws governing the growth and sale of legal weed in Kahnawake. Christopher…
VICE found that from 2015 to 2017, Canadian government agencies prosecuted minority cannabis users at a much higher rate than their white counterparts. In Regina, police were nine times more likely to arrest indigenous people for cannabis crime than whites. That’s in a city where indigenous people number 9.3 percent of…