{"id":100030,"date":"2025-12-05T10:05:07","date_gmt":"2025-12-05T15:05:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/?p=100030"},"modified":"2025-12-05T10:05:07","modified_gmt":"2025-12-05T15:05:07","slug":"nova-scotia-wants-crackdown-on-illegal-cannabis-asks-mikmaq-chiefs-for-support","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/2025\/12\/05\/nova-scotia-wants-crackdown-on-illegal-cannabis-asks-mikmaq-chiefs-for-support\/","title":{"rendered":"Nova Scotia wants crackdown on illegal cannabis, asks Mi&#8217;kmaq chiefs for support"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>By Lyndsay Armstrong Nova Scotia&#8217;s justice minister has directed police across the province to crack down on illegal dispensaries, prompting criticism that the government may be interfering with law enforcement to target Indigenous communities. In a directive issued Thursday, Justice Minister Scott Armstrong called on all Nova Scotia police agencies to prioritize cannabis enforcement by identifying and disrupting illegal operations and distribution networks. He also wrote to 13 Mi&#8217;kmaq chiefs Thursday, requesting their co-operation as they tackle the &#8220;growing public safety problem&#8221; of illegal cannabis sales. In response, some Indigenous activists say the moves are racist, and one legal scholar says the justice minister appears to be infringing on police independence. Wayne MacKay, professor emeritus of law at Dalhousie University in Halifax, said the justice minister has the authority to&#8230; <\/p>\n<div class=\"pmpro\">\n<div class=\"pmpro_card pmpro_content_message\">\n<div class=\"pmpro_card_content\">This content is for Yearly Subscription, Yearly Subscription &#8211; Corporate, Print Subscription Only, and Canada Print and Online members only.<br \/><a href=\"http:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/wp-login.php?action=register\">Register<\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"pmpro_card_actions pmpro_font-medium\">Already a member? <a href=\"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/wp-login.php?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Ftheturtleislandnews.com%2Findex.php%2F2025%2F12%2F05%2Fnova-scotia-wants-crackdown-on-illegal-cannabis-asks-mikmaq-chiefs-for-support%2F\">Log in here<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Lyndsay Armstrong Nova Scotia&#8217;s justice minister has directed police across the province to crack down on illegal dispensaries, prompting criticism that the government may be interfering with law enforcement to target Indigenous communities. In a directive issued Thursday, Justice Minister Scott Armstrong called on all Nova Scotia police agencies to prioritize cannabis enforcement by identifying and disrupting illegal operations and distribution networks. He also wrote to 13 Mi&#8217;kmaq chiefs Thursday, requesting their co-operation as they tackle the &#8220;growing public safety problem&#8221; of illegal cannabis sales. In response, some Indigenous activists say the moves are racist, and one legal scholar says the justice minister appears to be infringing on police independence. Wayne MacKay, professor emeritus of law at Dalhousie University in Halifax, said the justice minister has the authority to... <\/p>\n<div class=\"pmpro\"><div class=\"pmpro_card pmpro_content_message\"><div class=\"pmpro_card_content\">This content is for Yearly Subscription, Yearly Subscription - Corporate, Print Subscription Only, and Canada Print and Online members only.<br \/><a href=\"http:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/wp-login.php?action=register\">Register<\/a><\/div><div class=\"pmpro_card_actions pmpro_font-medium\">Already a member? <a href=\"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/wp-login.php?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Ftheturtleislandnews.com%2Findex.php%2F2025%2F12%2F05%2Fnova-scotia-wants-crackdown-on-illegal-cannabis-asks-mikmaq-chiefs-for-support%2F\">Log in here<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"author":101363,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8,13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-100030","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-national-news","category-ticker","pmpro-level-required","pmpro-level-3","pmpro-level-2","pmpro-level-5","pmpro-level-4","pmpro-level-6","pmpro-level-7","pmpro-no-access"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Nova Scotia wants crackdown on illegal cannabis, asks Mi&#039;kmaq chiefs for support - The Turtle Island News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/2025\/12\/05\/nova-scotia-wants-crackdown-on-illegal-cannabis-asks-mikmaq-chiefs-for-support\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Nova Scotia wants crackdown on illegal cannabis, asks Mi&#039;kmaq chiefs for support - The Turtle Island News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Lyndsay Armstrong Nova Scotia&#8217;s justice minister has directed police across the province to crack down on illegal dispensaries, prompting criticism that the government may be interfering with law enforcement to target Indigenous communities. In a directive issued Thursday, Justice Minister Scott Armstrong called on all Nova Scotia police agencies to prioritize cannabis enforcement by identifying and disrupting illegal operations and distribution networks. He also wrote to 13 Mi&#8217;kmaq chiefs Thursday, requesting their co-operation as they tackle the &#8220;growing public safety problem&#8221; of illegal cannabis sales. In response, some Indigenous activists say the moves are racist, and one legal scholar says the justice minister appears to be infringing on police independence. Wayne MacKay, professor emeritus of law at Dalhousie University in Halifax, said the justice minister has the authority to\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/2025\/12\/05\/nova-scotia-wants-crackdown-on-illegal-cannabis-asks-mikmaq-chiefs-for-support\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Turtle Island News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/TurtleIslandNews\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-12-05T15:05:07+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/facebooklogo.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"725\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"483\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Lynda Powless\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@newsattheturtle\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@newsattheturtle\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Lynda Powless\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/05\\\/nova-scotia-wants-crackdown-on-illegal-cannabis-asks-mikmaq-chiefs-for-support\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/05\\\/nova-scotia-wants-crackdown-on-illegal-cannabis-asks-mikmaq-chiefs-for-support\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Lynda Powless\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/7b188fd7503577895ef8b306988cd458\"},\"headline\":\"Nova Scotia wants crackdown on illegal cannabis, asks Mi&#8217;kmaq chiefs for support\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-12-05T15:05:07+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/05\\\/nova-scotia-wants-crackdown-on-illegal-cannabis-asks-mikmaq-chiefs-for-support\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1009,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"National News\",\"ticker\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-CA\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/05\\\/nova-scotia-wants-crackdown-on-illegal-cannabis-asks-mikmaq-chiefs-for-support\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/05\\\/nova-scotia-wants-crackdown-on-illegal-cannabis-asks-mikmaq-chiefs-for-support\\\/\",\"name\":\"Nova Scotia wants crackdown on illegal cannabis, asks Mi'kmaq chiefs for support - 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