“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…
Dispensing Freedom
Cannabis was once believed to have the power to break apart communities, but now it has become a hopeful opportunity to build and strengthen First Nations communities across the province.
The Kwaw-Kwaw-Apilt First Nation near Chilliwack has written its own cannabis law to replace the federal Cannabis Act and licensed its own cannabis store on reserve land.
“Proud to be Chilliwack’s FIRST legal retail Marijuana customer on this Oct 17, 2018!” he posted on a local Facebook group, along with a photo of him wearing a Cheech and Chong T-shirt holding his receipt and his purchase. “Congratulations Canada!!!”
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…
First Nations officials say over-arching federal and provincial frameworks in place to regulate cannabis in Canada do not consider a third level of governance that comes from rights they already have over traditional lands.
Nipissing First Nation (NFN) has the inherent right to its own cannabis law and could be drafting a new law soon with the support of its citizens.
First Nations officials say over-arching federal and provincial frameworks in place to regulate cannabis in Canada do not consider a third level of governance that comes from rights they already have over traditional lands.
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…
The first Indigenous owned and operated medical cannabis producer gets licensed by Health Canada. Seven Leaf of Akwesasne, Ont. will soon start growing medical marijuana in it’s on-reserve facility.