Why Going Legal Isn't Selling Out: Opinion
By Lisa Campbell • Jul 6, 2018
With recreational cannabis legalization on its way on October 17, there's a lot to celebrate. But despite the excitement this year, there were well-attended protests across the country that took place on both 420 and at the 20th Annual Global Marijuana March.
Activists are calling for further decriminalization and amnesty for non-violent cannabis convictions leading up to legalization, fearful that arrests and raids will further intensify under the Trudeau government. Advocates also object to the sin tax which is planned to be added to the price of medical cannabis, which has yet to receive a drug identification number and isn't included by the majority of private benefits plans. More than 100 companies are now licensed under the Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regulations (ACMPR). There is so much more to come for the post-prohibition era, such as micro-licences, new product categories like vape pens, concentrates, edibles and beverages. Outdoor cannabis cultivation was just recently approved, which will lead to an ecological revolution in cannabis production.
Yet amidst all of the celebrations for policy gains, those of us who are finding our way in the legal industry are being stigmatized, criticized and sometimes bullied by those who disagree with Trudeau’s version of legalization. Many are looking for a spot in the emerging industry, but won’t compromise their values or want to feel vulnerable to accusations of “selling out.” When cannabis activists do “go legal,” hate from the community can intensify.
Recently, some cannabis aficionados expressed disappointment at the news that Canada’s most prominent cannabis lawyer, Kirk Tousaw, was joining Canopy Growth Corporation, along with the House of the Great Gardener's Mat Beren.
From left: Kirk Tousaw, Owen Smith (R v Smith), Mat Beren (R v Beren)
Tousaw is well-known for the R v Smith Supreme Court case, which ruled that patients have the right to access cannabis in all forms. R v Beren was another monumental case Tousaw worked on — a constitutional challenge to limiting designated growers for the medical community. Yet when the news was announced that the outspoken advocates were joining Canopy, they were labelled "sell-outs" on social media.
Mat Beren, however, says he is elated to be joining Canopy: “Working with Kirk, in addition to my activist allies like Hilary Black, Adam Greenblatt and Rade Kovacevic, feels like we are getting the band back together, and I'm super stoked to see what the future brings."
Joining the legal industry is being treated like crossing union lines, as if cannabis activists should be a united front, on strike until the government gets legalization right. When Canopy's Adam Greenblatt faced criticism, he chirped back, “I’m not selling out, I’m buying in.” Santé Cannabis, the clinic Greenblatt founded with his partner Erin Prosk, was an intervener in the R v Smith case, yet even at the time, Greenblatt received anti-Semitic rants and death threats for joining Canopy. Beren and Tousaw’s recent announcement has received considerably less blowback: Is the stigma finally fading?
Jose Dominguez poses with his Lift Cannabis Cup Awards
So many of the activists that we know and love are transitioning into the legal industry, from master growers to compassion club founders and edibles entrepreneurs. Tracy Curley, a long-time advocate for medical cannabis patients, believes the only way forward is to change with the times.
“Very early on in my career, I had the pleasure of meeting Hilary Black, who at the time was working with a group called CannaSat,” she tells Lift & Co. “She explained that I could sit back and complain about the monster that was legalization, or I could try to have a positive influence on how the monster was built. The current legalization scheme does seem to leave patients in limbo without their own brick-and-mortar access and the addition of an excise tax, but I need to believe the increased access across Canada will benefit patients as a whole while we work on fixing these obvious oversights.”
Black, a founding member of the BC Compassion Club Society, was one of Canopy’s first activist employees. She is still a board member, representing both dispensaries and licensed producers in the space as an advocate. Former dispensary owner and co-founder of patient resource centre MedCannAccess, Rade Kovacevic, is now the senior VP and managing director at Canopy. Former Canadian Association of Medical Dispensaries (CAMCD) coordinators Shega Youngson and Nick Whitehead now work at Canopy and Aurora respectively. Recently, former CAMCD board member Dieter MacPherson — lovingly described as the "goose that lays the golden eggs" due to his top-performing enterprises in B.C.’s grey market — is now Aurora’s VP of production. Without Dieter, Aurora may not be able to scale its quality moving forward in this environment of rapid growth internationally.
Dieter MacPherson and his family at Edmonton Pride
Cannabis activists in Canada have decided to either found, merge, acquire or work with licensed producers in the legal market. Matt Mernagh, who wrote the Marijuana Smoker’s Guidebook (and a contributor to Lift & Co.), received hateful messages when he stopped podcasting on Pot.TV and retired from 420 activism to join Cronos Group, the first cannabis company to be traded on the NASDAQ. INDIVA’s co-founder and master grower, Pete Young, opened the London Compassion Club in the ‘90s. It remains open to this day.
Sarah Gillies, the "Katy Perry of pot," came up in the Underground Comedy Club and co-founded the High 5, Green Market and Mary Jane’s Touch, which inked a deal with MYM Nutraceuticals last fall. MYM is now is working towards licensing their 5,000 square-foot processing facility. Gillies is most famous as the girl holding the cannabis flag at 420 Toronto. While 420 is no longer officially at Dundas Square, it’s a place of frequent public toking, and is now adorned with giant digital billboard ads for Canopy and Aurora.
Now that we’re so close to the finish line, activists are shifting their mentality from civil disobedience to compliance and licensing. Case in point, Green Market, the edibles market I co-founded with Gillies, was Canada’s biggest cannabis farmers' market, making international headlines and drawing more than 1,000 people at its final event in a 10,000 square-foot warehouse. Now, these events are on hold: the Ontario government increased fines for such events, fun as they were, to up to $1 million and foreclosure without trial. Instead of risking everything before legalization, Green Market is snowbirding and plans to re-emerge post-legalization.
By Lisa Campbell • Jul 6, 2018
With recreational cannabis legalization on its way on October 17, there's a lot to celebrate. But despite the excitement this year, there were well-attended protests across the country that took place on both 420 and at the 20th Annual Global Marijuana March.
Activists are calling for further decriminalization and amnesty for non-violent cannabis convictions leading up to legalization, fearful that arrests and raids will further intensify under the Trudeau government. Advocates also object to the sin tax which is planned to be added to the price of medical cannabis, which has yet to receive a drug identification number and isn't included by the majority of private benefits plans. More than 100 companies are now licensed under the Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regulations (ACMPR). There is so much more to come for the post-prohibition era, such as micro-licences, new product categories like vape pens, concentrates, edibles and beverages. Outdoor cannabis cultivation was just recently approved, which will lead to an ecological revolution in cannabis production.
Yet amidst all of the celebrations for policy gains, those of us who are finding our way in the legal industry are being stigmatized, criticized and sometimes bullied by those who disagree with Trudeau’s version of legalization. Many are looking for a spot in the emerging industry, but won’t compromise their values or want to feel vulnerable to accusations of “selling out.” When cannabis activists do “go legal,” hate from the community can intensify.
Recently, some cannabis aficionados expressed disappointment at the news that Canada’s most prominent cannabis lawyer, Kirk Tousaw, was joining Canopy Growth Corporation, along with the House of the Great Gardener's Mat Beren.
From left: Kirk Tousaw, Owen Smith (R v Smith), Mat Beren (R v Beren)
Tousaw is well-known for the R v Smith Supreme Court case, which ruled that patients have the right to access cannabis in all forms. R v Beren was another monumental case Tousaw worked on — a constitutional challenge to limiting designated growers for the medical community. Yet when the news was announced that the outspoken advocates were joining Canopy, they were labelled "sell-outs" on social media.
Mat Beren, however, says he is elated to be joining Canopy: “Working with Kirk, in addition to my activist allies like Hilary Black, Adam Greenblatt and Rade Kovacevic, feels like we are getting the band back together, and I'm super stoked to see what the future brings."
Joining the legal industry is being treated like crossing union lines, as if cannabis activists should be a united front, on strike until the government gets legalization right. When Canopy's Adam Greenblatt faced criticism, he chirped back, “I’m not selling out, I’m buying in.” Santé Cannabis, the clinic Greenblatt founded with his partner Erin Prosk, was an intervener in the R v Smith case, yet even at the time, Greenblatt received anti-Semitic rants and death threats for joining Canopy. Beren and Tousaw’s recent announcement has received considerably less blowback: Is the stigma finally fading?
Jose Dominguez poses with his Lift Cannabis Cup Awards
So many of the activists that we know and love are transitioning into the legal industry, from master growers to compassion club founders and edibles entrepreneurs. Tracy Curley, a long-time advocate for medical cannabis patients, believes the only way forward is to change with the times.
“Very early on in my career, I had the pleasure of meeting Hilary Black, who at the time was working with a group called CannaSat,” she tells Lift & Co. “She explained that I could sit back and complain about the monster that was legalization, or I could try to have a positive influence on how the monster was built. The current legalization scheme does seem to leave patients in limbo without their own brick-and-mortar access and the addition of an excise tax, but I need to believe the increased access across Canada will benefit patients as a whole while we work on fixing these obvious oversights.”
Black, a founding member of the BC Compassion Club Society, was one of Canopy’s first activist employees. She is still a board member, representing both dispensaries and licensed producers in the space as an advocate. Former dispensary owner and co-founder of patient resource centre MedCannAccess, Rade Kovacevic, is now the senior VP and managing director at Canopy. Former Canadian Association of Medical Dispensaries (CAMCD) coordinators Shega Youngson and Nick Whitehead now work at Canopy and Aurora respectively. Recently, former CAMCD board member Dieter MacPherson — lovingly described as the "goose that lays the golden eggs" due to his top-performing enterprises in B.C.’s grey market — is now Aurora’s VP of production. Without Dieter, Aurora may not be able to scale its quality moving forward in this environment of rapid growth internationally.
Dieter MacPherson and his family at Edmonton Pride
Cannabis activists in Canada have decided to either found, merge, acquire or work with licensed producers in the legal market. Matt Mernagh, who wrote the Marijuana Smoker’s Guidebook (and a contributor to Lift & Co.), received hateful messages when he stopped podcasting on Pot.TV and retired from 420 activism to join Cronos Group, the first cannabis company to be traded on the NASDAQ. INDIVA’s co-founder and master grower, Pete Young, opened the London Compassion Club in the ‘90s. It remains open to this day.
Sarah Gillies, the "Katy Perry of pot," came up in the Underground Comedy Club and co-founded the High 5, Green Market and Mary Jane’s Touch, which inked a deal with MYM Nutraceuticals last fall. MYM is now is working towards licensing their 5,000 square-foot processing facility. Gillies is most famous as the girl holding the cannabis flag at 420 Toronto. While 420 is no longer officially at Dundas Square, it’s a place of frequent public toking, and is now adorned with giant digital billboard ads for Canopy and Aurora.
Now that we’re so close to the finish line, activists are shifting their mentality from civil disobedience to compliance and licensing. Case in point, Green Market, the edibles market I co-founded with Gillies, was Canada’s biggest cannabis farmers' market, making international headlines and drawing more than 1,000 people at its final event in a 10,000 square-foot warehouse. Now, these events are on hold: the Ontario government increased fines for such events, fun as they were, to up to $1 million and foreclosure without trial. Instead of risking everything before legalization, Green Market is snowbirding and plans to re-emerge post-legalization.
