A cannabis store operating outside the Saskatchewan government's regulatory framework is now open in a First Nation community 70 kilometres northeast of Regina after the band passed its own cannabis legislation. Justice Minister Don Morgan said Tuesday the province wants the store to shut down.
Dispensing Freedom
Saskatchewan’s justice minister says an unlicensed cannabis store on Indigenous land northeast of Regina is illegal.
In the federal Liberals’ haste to negotiate how they would share all of that delicious, new cannabis tax revenue with the provinces, they totally neglected to consult with Canada’s First Nations communities on the same issue.
Muscowpetung First Nation will open the doors to its own marijuana dispensary under its own cannabis act, the Muscowpetung First Nation Cannabis/Hemp Act.
Meanwhile, about 45 minutes outside Regina, a First Nation is preparing to open its own cannabis store, according to Best Buds Society owner Pat Warnecke.
“We were hoping to be here on day one (of legalization), but I’m glad today we’re able to do it,” says Long Plain Chief Dennis Meeches. “I didn’t think we would be first (in the Central Plains region) but I knew we would be in the mix of things. Central Plains is a fairly large region and it does need to be serviced with a cannabis supply company and I’m glad we’re the one.”
Majority In Kahnawake Okay With Local Pot Sale: Community members had a chance last week to give their thoughts on cannabis sales in Kahnawake with an opinion poll.
About six hours north of Winnipeg, in the small town of Opaskwayak, Man., lies a 1,500-square-foot retail store, fully stocked with cannabis, ready for business.
A new cannabis shop near the Manitoba-Saskatchewan border is set to be Canada’s first federally legal marijuana outlet on FirstNations territory.
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?”…