N.S. justice minister calls for crackdown on illegal cannabis shops

Nova Scotia, citing public safety, is calling on police to crackdown on illegal cannabis shops.

Nova Scotia is tightening its grip on the illegal cannabis market, calling it a growing risk to public health and safety.

Nova Scotia’s attorney general and minister of justice has directed all police agencies to step up enforcement, target illegal cannabis shops, and shut them down.

“Illegal dispensaries pose a real threat to consumers, to youth, and to the integrity of our regulated system,” said Nova Scotia Justice Minister and Attorney General Scott Armstrong.

Armstrong says the province has already taken steps to confront the risks, but the challenge is evolving and the unchecked growth of the illegal market is getting out of hand.

“Protecting Nova Scotians means strengthening our efforts, advancing new measures, and shutting down this shadow market before it can cause more harm to public health and safety,” said Armstrong.

The attorney general and justice minister sent a letter to the 13 First Nation Chiefs Thursday, asking for their cooperation in stopping the illegal sale of cannabis.

According to the province, a recent scan found at least 118 illegal cannabis shops operating across the province, compared to the 51 NSLC cannabis shops.

Armstrong emphasized that cannabis is only legal when sold through regulated means like the NSLC.

“Nova Scotians are particularly concerned about the growth of and normalization of the illegal cannabis market across Nova Scotia,” wrote Armstrong in the letter to the Chiefs. “This can not continue and we hope you agree.”

Dr. Robert Strang, Nova Scotia’s chief medical officer of health, noted using cannabis sold outside of the regulated system can come with serious health risks.

“This is about more than enforcing laws; it’s about safeguarding health and the future of our communities, and especially youth,” said Strang. “Stronger enforcement sends a clear message that we will not allow unregulated cannabis to put Nova Scotians at risk.”

In 2018 the federal government legalized recreational cannabis and left the regulation and sale of cannabis to the exclusive jurisdiction of the provinces.

In Nova Scotia, the NSLC is the only legal retailer of recreational cannabis.

The province says illegal dispensaries, along with their staff and products, are not subject to oversight, training or testing, which it warns could pose health risks and create opportunities for “organized crime, money laundering and even human trafficking.”

Indigenous-owned dispensaries

Cody Young, who owns and operates Greenwolf Treaty Truck House dispensaries, which includes four shops in in Nova Scotia says the province’s crackdown threat is demeaning to Indigenous-owned operations and ignores Mi’kmaq sovereignty.

“I was very disappointed in a lot the discussion,” said Young, referencing the province’s call for police to crackdown on Indigenous and what Armstrong called illegal cannabis shops.

“It’s being framed as if we aren’t bringing legitimate standards to the table, and if we don’t follow their framework, then it can’t possibly be our right [to sell] and can’t possibly be valid or safe,” said Young.

Young who is also an executive member with the Micmac Rights Association, an organization that advocates for the inherent and sovereign rights on behalf of the Mi’kmaq people, says his shop and others like his, maintain high safety standards and argues the province is fear-mongering.

“Having the province publicly shame us and treating us like black-market criminals and acting as if our treaty rights are nonexistent has been extremely difficult,” he said.

Young who is a member of the Sipekne’katik First Nation, said his Greenwolf Treaty Truck House in the Annapolis Valley region has been raided by police but that won’t deter his effort to participate in the free trade or sale of goods like cannabis, which he argues is his inherent right.

Armstrong doesn’t see it that way, as cannabis is a controlled substance under the provinces Cannabis Control Act and in his letter to the Mi’kmaw Chiefs, suggests that he’s not aware that “the use or trade in cannabis is a Mi’kmaq aboriginal or treaty right.”

Since April, the province has introduced new regulations to allow First Nations communities to partner with them, to open a licensed NSLC-supplied store on reserves, with proceeds staying in the community.

But the NSLC confirmed just one Mi’kmaq community has signed on and that the agreement details are still being worked out and so they wouldn’t say which First Nation was onboard.

“We’ll have ongoing negotiations and discussions with First Nations,” Armstrong said. “But right now, the only legal distributor of cannabis in Nova Scotia is the Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation.”

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