Nova ScotiaThe Nova Scotia government is directing police to crack down on illegal cannabis stores and wants help from Mi’kmaw chiefs to shut down on-reserve sales.Justice minister says at least 118 illegal dispensaries operating in provinceLyndsay Armstrong · The Canadian Press · Posted: Dec 04, 2025 12:58 PM EST | Last Updated: 13 minutes agoListen to this articleEstimated 1 minuteThe audio version of this article is generated by text-to-speech, a technology based on artificial intelligence.A flowering cannabis plant is seen at Blissco Cannabis Corp. in Langley, B.C., on Tuesday, Oct. 9, 2018. (The Canadian Press)The Nova Scotia government is directing police to crack down on illegal cannabis stores and wants help from Mi’kmaw chiefs to shut down on-reserve sales.Justice Minister Scott Armstrong sent a letter to the province’s 13 Mi’kmaw chiefs saying there are at least 118 illegal dispensaries operating in their communities.However, when questioned by reporters Thursday, Armstrong said he didn’t know how many illegal stores were actually on First Nation land or elsewhere in the province.But he said there are in fact 118 illegal stores across Nova Scotia.Nova Scotia law strictly controls the sale of cannabis in the province, but an Indigenous cannabis advocate says the government’s crackdown is “blatantly racist” and an attack on Mi’kmaw sovereignty.Thomas Durfee says he has a legal right to sell cannabis at treaty truckhouses, which is the term used for trading posts in treaties signed by the Mi’kmaq and British Crown in the 1700s.He is currently involved in a legal case moving through the provincial court system following a raid on one of his cannabis outlets.MORE TOP STORIES
N.S. government wants crackdown on illegal cannabis, asks Mi’kmaw chiefs for support
