Today, Canada\u2019s legal federal cannabis industry came online, marking a historic moment for the cannabis movement. However, not everyone is excited about the government\u2019s new regulations. For one, the federal government\u2019s cannabis regulations that are now in effect don\u2019t recognize the sovereignty of the country\u2019s First Nations.<\/p>\n
The main issue is that, under Canada\u2019s new pot laws in the Cannabis Act, authority must run through either the provinces, territories or Ottawa. If a First Nation<\/a> wants to take part in Canada\u2019s newest legal industry, they must be licensed through one of those three government entities. But some First Nations are set on determining their own regulations around cannabis and don\u2019t agree with this layout of things.<\/p>\n Sakimay First Nation Chief Lynn Acoose\u00a0told the CBC<\/a>\u00a0that her and the council plan on developing their own plan for what legal marijuana will look like in their corner of southeast Saskatchewan. Due to the tribe opting out of the regulatory oversight they would have needed to have dispensaries open their doors to adults, it\u2019s one of the few places that wasn\u2019t expecting big crowds on Wednesday as legalization hit the rest of Canada.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re just going our own way,\u201d Acoose told CBC. \u201cI think that the compromises that we\u2019ve had to make in the past have weakened our ability to determine our own economic future.\u201d<\/p>\n Acoose said they are not prepared to recognize the jurisdiction of the province on reserve.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s always been a one-sided agreement with the province holding all of the power and being able to regulate over us, so we\u2019re not interested in that kind of relationship this time,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n While the CBC reports that recent polling results of the Sakimay First Nation want the community to take part in the cannabis industry, Acoose and the council would not see the process put a dent in their sovereignty.<\/p>\n Dwight Newman, the Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Rights at the University of Saskatchewan, said currently things were a little bit of a mess for First Nation people wanting to get in on the money without feeling like they were submitting to the will of Ottawa.<\/p>\n \u201cI think at this point, [governments] should be continuing to consult with First Nations and to consider necessary statutory changes in order that the law can be functional and meet everyone\u2019s needs,\u201d Newman told the CBC.<\/p>\n There are, of course, two ends to the spectrum. Some First Nation tribes are looking to get involved in the cannabis industry, despite the fact they\u2019ll have to defer to provincial governments. The Peguis First Nation is one of those entering the cannabis industry. In\u00a0February, they received<\/a>\u00a0conditional approval and, today, they are pitching a facility that could employ between 150 and 200 people locally.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have entered into all aspects of the cannabis industry \u2014 from production, to retail, to medicinal, even into the area of hemp,\u201d Peguis First Nation Chief Glenn Hudson\u00a0told the CBC,\u00a0<\/a>as the tribe prepares to be a big player in Manitoba cannabis.<\/p>\n Hudson is now looking at plans for a 100,000 square foot facility. When the Peguis held a town hall on the subject, 300 people showed up, the CBC reported. Only two spoke out against the plan that would be one of the largest grows in Manitoba.<\/p>\n While things look good in Manitoba, there is still plenty of work to be done, especially in including the range of views First Nations peoples have on regulation, according to comments Assembly of First Nations National Chief Perry Bellegarde gave to CBC.<\/p>\n \u201cFirst Nations have the right to decide if they want to participate in this new economic sector,\u201d said Bellegarde. \u201cWe will continue to work with governments and advocate for First Nations-led approaches to ensure community safety, health and well-being for our families and youth.\u201d<\/p>\n TELL US<\/b>, what changes would you make to Canada\u2019s legalization regulations?<\/p>\n The post Sovereign Pot: Some First Nations Reject Canada\u2019s Legalization Plan<\/a> appeared first on Cannabis Now<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Today, Canada\u2019s legal federal cannabis industry came online, marking a historic moment for the cannabis movement. However, not everyone is excited about the government\u2019s new regulations. For one, the federal government\u2019s cannabis regulations that are now in effect don\u2019t recognize the sovereignty of the country\u2019s First Nations. The main issueContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[34,50,216,170,2667,687,319],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29924"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29924"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29924\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29925,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29924\/revisions\/29925"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29924"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29924"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29924"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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\nRead More: Sovereign Pot: Some First Nations Reject Canada\u2019s Legalization Plan<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"