Indigenous leaders sounding alarm over implications of legal pot regime
OTTAWA — Indigenous leaders looking at the prospect of legalized marijuana in Canada say they don’t see a route to riches, but rather a serious risk that the black market in pot will set its sights on their vulnerable communities.
Isadore Day, the Ontario regional chief of the Assembly of First Nations, said Tuesday he fears for Indigenous community safety because the federal government is moving too quickly with its plans to legalize pot by July 2018.
“First Nations are not just looking at this as a cash cow,” Day said in an interview. “We have very legitimate concerns and fears about what legalization of cannabis is going to do, the types of things it is …potentially going to create in our communities.”
Day called it embarrassing that Indigenous leaders weren’t invited to take part in Monday’s meeting of finance ministers, and said he and Quebec Regional Chief Ghislain Picard are leading discussions on how First Nations communities will address the impacts of legal pot.