From APTN News by Cierra Bettens & Jesse Staniforth May 15 2026 Amid RCMP raids on unlicensed cannabis dispensaries in Mi’kma’ki, some First Nations leaders are calling for changes to Canada’s Cannabis Act. This week on InFocus, APTN online reporter Jesse Staniforth, who wrote a story about what some leaders are calling for to clarify the law,…
Category: Legal
Membertou forges ahead with own cannabis law while seeking federal recognition
Retired Canadian senator Dan Christmas pushing for Cannabis Act changes From CBC by Tom Ayers May 11 2026 Membertou First Nation is pressing ahead with its own cannabis law, amid a Nova Scotia crackdown on unlicensed retail outlets and federal government indifference over self-government rights. Retired Canadian senator Dan Christmas, appointed to engage his home…
RCMP cannabis raids won’t ‘hamper’ N.B. First Nations pot sale discussions: minister
From GlobalNews via The Canadian Press by Eli Ridder May 8 2026 New Brunswick’s Indigenous Affairs minister says he isn’t worried a recent series of raids by the RCMP in three different provinces will derail his negotiations with First Nations to improve controls over the sale of cannabis products. The April 26 raids targeted what…
Amid Nova Scotia raids, senators hear calls for Indigenous sovereignty over cannabis
‘After eight long years, we’re still dealing with the same issues,’ Dan Christmas tells senate committee. From APTN by Jesse Staniforth May 1 2026 A former senator says First Nations should have a protected right to control cannabis in their communities without interference from provincial authorities. Dan Christmas, from the Mi’kmaw Membertou First Nation, spoke…
How a tiny First Nations community in N.S. is grappling with the burning issue of cannabis
Glooscap First Nation is consulting before a vote on its first cannabis law From CBC by Elizabeth Chiu April 13 2026 n a road leading to the Glooscap First Nation, a community of a few dozen homes near Hantsport, N.S., a sign points to the band administration office. Next to it, a placard with cannabis leaves…
Become a Treaty Protector! Uphold Mi’kmaw rights and the Canadian Constitution!
The first training session for Treaty Enforcers will be held at 5pm on Tuesday, April 14th in Epekwitk (Charlottetown, PEI.) In Nova Scotia, PEI, and New Brunswick, provincial governments are unlawfully repressing Mi’kmaw truckhouses which have a lawful, treaty based authorization to “have free liberty to bring for Sale to Halifax or any other Settlement……
Court: State lacks authority to prosecute Indian Country pot case
From The Minnesota Reformer by Mike Mosedale February 2, 2026 A Minnesota court dismissed a case against an Ojibwe man who was charged with first degree felony possession of marijuana after police seized more than 7 pounds of cannabis during a raid at his reservation-based tobacco shop. In an opinion issued Monday, the Minnesota Court of Appeals ruled that…
Digby RCMP used unlawful “fingerprinting warrant” to jail Mi’kmaw man for 23 hours in “racial crackdown” on treaty trade and commerce
By Dispensing Freedom Staff DIGBY, N.S. – A Mi’kmaq entrepreneur and Micmac Rights Association (MRA) member was seized by the RCMP in a warrantless raid on the Peace and Friendship Trading Post, jailed overnight in oppressive conditions, and brought to court in leg irons – all without any new charges being laid – in what…
Sovereignty is not theoretical: Why Mi’kmaq treaty rights are on trial in Nova Scotia’s cannabis crackdown
Turtle Island Affairs reports on Indigenous Nations and issues across Turtle Island, beyond colonial borders. Written By Troy Littledeer (MI’KMA’KI) When Nova Scotia’s Attorney General announced on Dec. 4 that the province would intensify enforcement against “illegal cannabis” regardless of location, Mi’kmaq advocates heard something else entirely: the province asserting control over an economy that…