Akwesasne’s budding economy is ready to bloom thanks to a new medicinal marijuana operation.
There’s a concerto of construction happening here. Drills whining, saws whirring, impact hammers pounding, steel-toed work boots stomping. To the average person, it might look like a regular warehouse in the process of being retrofitted. To Lewis Mitchell, it’s the future of Akwesasne.
The close to 50,000-square-foot space on Kawehno:ke (Cornwall Island) was once the bottling plant for Iroquois Water. Today, it is poised to become the site of one of—if not the first—majority Indigenous-owned and -operated medical marijuana facilities in Canada.
Lewis, an affable 61-year-old, previously served as Chief of Police for the Akwesasne Mohawk Police Service for 13 years. Today, he is President of the Seven Leaf medical marijuana production company.
“Akwesasne has always been regarded as a leader among First Nations,” he says. “We’re working hard to build on that.”
Lewis and his executive team— Lorraine White, a local law firm owner and former Chief of the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe and Michael ‘Gus’ Pyke, a veteran pharmacist—have been talking about and navigating the waters for becoming a licensed medical marijuana producer for the past five years, something he still laughs about.
“We thought getting licensed would take eighteen months from the time we applied,” he says. “It’s been challenging but I can’t really complain. It’s been an adventure and I’m okay with that. There aren’t too many people, especially those in First Nations communities, who have been down this path.”
In fact, there are very few companies—Indigenous or otherwise—who have received commercial licenses to produce medical marijuana in Canada. At press time, there were 104 approved and operating. Two hundred applicants, await approval, Seven Leaf included.
Despite the difficult regulatory road to growing and selling medical marijuana, producers are hungry to get in on the action. Health Canada forecasts that the number of registered medical marijuana clients in Canada will more than triple in the next two years. Currently, the medicinal marijuana industry brings in about $600 million in Canada; it’s estimated that it will balloon to $1.1 billion dollars by 2020.
For Lewis, these statistics point to nothing but opportunity.
“We’re planning on hiring a total of 60 to 70 people and projecting a $70-million injection into our community. That’s huge for us,” says Lewis. “We also know that Seven Leaf will need lots of local services and this could create more businesses, new jobs and more opportunities than what currently exists. I’m excited about that.”
It’s clear Seven Leaf will have great economic impact on Akwesasne but for Lewis, the project can provide so much more.
“We know of other first Nations who have partnered with other pharmaceutical companies but we wanted to do this on our own. I feel great pride in Seven Leaf being Mohawk owned, Mohawk operated and Mohawk directed.”
“Over the years, different leaders have talked about bringing different industry to Akwesasne. They always look to the outside to get companies to come here. In my lifetime, that hasn’t really happened. So we have to do this ourselves and show our youth that we can build our future.”
Building Seven Leaf from the inside out has not been an easy task, Lewis admits. The initial application to Health Canada was 600 pages long and the regulatory body requires detailed reports on every detail from humidity levels and air pressure in the growing rooms to the paint used on the walls to the number of security cameras looking in and out of the facility. And with constant changes to regulations for medical marijuana production, there is always more paperwork and more questions to answer. So far, there has been an $8-million-dollar investment made for everything from consultants to the buildout of the facility.
For Lewis, no amount of hardship or pushback deterred him from seeing the process through to the end.
“We’ve put way too much into this to let go now. We’ve done everything we can to meet or exceed Health Canada standards, to educate our community and our Council, to collaborate with our partners. We’ve been transparent every step of the way.”
In late April, Health Canada contacted Seven Leaf and requested their Confirmation of Readiness, a step that requires the company to provide video proof that the facility meets requirements. If all goes well, they will be issued a License to Produce and eventually a License to Sell. According to their application, Seven Leaf will harvest and bring 8,400 kilograms of medical marijuana to market.
This spring, the company started recruiting for 20 positions. The Mohawk-first hiring policy ensures community members will play a vital role in the success of this homegrown enterprise.
“In Mohawk culture, we always try to look at how our decisions affect seven generations beyond us,” Lewis explains. “With the Seven Leaf name, we wanted to hint that we are conscious of this.”
“I’ve spent most of my adult life protecting this community. I’d never bring anything here that would harm it. This is all about positive impact.”
Medical Marijuana: A Timeline
1922
Canadian pioneering feminist Emily Murphy published “Black Candle” arguing that marijuana turns users into raving maniacs.
1923
Cannabis becomes a controlled substance in Canada.
2000
The courts rule that Canadians have a constitutional right to use cannabis as medicine.
2001
The Canadian Medical Marijuana Access Regulation (MMAR) grants legal access to cannabis for medical patients to grow their own.
2013
Under the new Marijuana for Medical Purposes Regulation (MMPR), Canadians cannot growing their own. Large-scale operations are now permitted.
2014
Seven Leaf files their application with Health Canada.
The Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regulation (ACMPR) comes into effect which adds allowances for personal cultivation.
2017
Health Canada confirms that Seven Leaf is in Active Review, the final stage of the ACMPR Application process.
2018
Seven Leaf submits confirmation of readiness. Staff is hired. License to Grow and License to Sell is expected.
