Cannabis vape allegedly sold to child by store
Mohawk Council of Kahnawake (MCK) chief Jeremiah Johnson this week confronted a local business and filed a police report after he received information that a cannabis vape was allegedly sold to a 14-year-old in the community.
“This is part of the problem. If we’re going to have any handle on this at all, no matter what the future of the industry looks like in our community, we need the community to be taking responsibility and we need people respecting this community,” said MCK chief Tonya Perron. “That’s what’s lacking if they’re selling.”
Perron told The Eastern Door that Johnson was the one who confronted the business and made the report. She said it was brought to the attention of MCK chiefs on Wednesday that a vape containing THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), the active ingredient in cannabis, had been purchased by a 14-year-old from a local establishment, and that the product in question was not a Health Canada product. Though the sale of all cannabis products is illegal within the community, the fact the vape was not a Health Canada product means that it was not purchased from a regulated business outside of Kahnawake and therefore was sourced from an unregulated producer who has not been subject to rigorous health and safety checks.
According to Perron, Johnson demanded to take the product and establish who the store owner was. He went to the location of the store, which Perron declined to share the name of, and asked for the owner to be called. He then confronted the owner and filed a police report.
Due to this information coming to light close to The Eastern Door’s publishing deadline, Peacekeepers were unavailable to confirm or provide information related to that report.
Perron said that this week’s meeting between representatives from both Longhouses and the MCK was productive, but that this incident is a reminder of the gravity of the situation concerning cannabis in Kahnawake. She said that it’s a growing concern that tobacco stores are selling cannabis products, often behind the counter, and often to underage customers.
“They’re contributing to the problem rather than helping the situation,” she said. “As community members, they should be acting responsibly. And it’s very irresponsible to sell an illegal product, especially to a 14-year-old.”
