’Huge economic opportunity’

Licence in hand, Akwesasne reserve eyes potential of legal marijuana

Some dispensaries in Akwesasne will have their legal Canadian pot delivered by boat to avoid bringing it through the U.S. where it remains very much illegal, but despite the unique geographical challenges, the reserve is poised to become a significant player in Canada’s cannabis industry.

The Mohawk reserve that straddles three borders (Ontario, Quebec and New York State) is home to Seven Leaf, which promotes itself as Canada’s first Indigenous owned and operated medical cannabis producer licensed by Health Canada. The company received licensing approval last month.

There is little doubt that there is growing interest by Indigenous communities across the country in getting into the legal cannabis market. There are other Indigenous ventures on reserves throughout Canada, including Seven Oaks, a Métis brand that is a joint enterprise with a Burlington-based producer and promotes itself as the premier Indigenous brand currently on sale. President Lewis Mitchell said Seven Leaf’s ownership and operation makes it stand apart.

“We are proud to be the first Indigenous-owned and -operated (venture),” Mitchell said. “We are very proud of that.”

By the time the company, located in a former water bottling plant on Cornwall Island, begins producing cannabis next spring, it also will likely be selling to the booming recreational market — at least that is the plan.

Meanwhile, the Mohawk Council of Akwesasne has passed interim regulations that allow pot to be consumed by those over 18 on the reserve, essentially taking control of regulation on the reserve as other First Nations communities are doing. It plans to license distributors on the reserve’s Canadian section, two-thirds of which is along the St. Lawrence River and landlocked by the United States.

One twist is that anyone who wants to distribute pot on the reserve must present a business model that includes approved transportation plans to get the product to customers by boat or airplane, since an overland route through the U.S. is not an option. For now, Akwesasne is just taking applications for prospective distributors.

Grand Chief Abram Benedict said the Mohawk council wanted to step in early in an attempt to keep cannabis sales regulated and avoid a free-for-all of retail operations. In Tyendinaga, near Belleville, numerous stores have popped up in recent months selling a wider range of products, including edibles, than are available at any of the legal operations.

First Nations officials have complained that they were not consulted prior to legalization. Many say they want to avoid the issues they had with tobacco, which was a black market that did not benefit First Nations governments or communities, and to take some control of legal cannabis.

For Mitchell, former police chief on Akwesasne, the legalization of pot is a huge economic opportunity for Akwesasne and other First Nations communities.