This restaurateur wants cannabis on menus across Canada
An Ontario man believes cannabis belongs in restaurants and is trying to make it happen. It will be a difficult journey, but it is not his first major challenge.
Jeremy Smith has gone through hell. He was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease and swallowing disorder last year. In the months that followed, he suffered from blood clots in his heart, lungs, and other parts of the body.
Smith had to quit his job at a hospital near his home in London, Ontario and is now disabled. But instead of breaking it, the adversity made it stronger.
Smith is now a man on a mission. Its goal is to change laws to allow the preparation and sale of cannabis-infused foods in restaurants and other venues.
Medical cannabis inspired Smith’s advocacy
The 35-year-old father began his career in the legal profession when he fell ill.
His specialist doctor prescribed a corticosteroid, which caused blood clots. Smith did not respond well to prescription pain medication. They caused slurred speech, blurred vision, and mobility problems.
Eventually he tried cannabis and succeeded where conventional drugs had failed. Despite still facing health challenges, Smith is doing much better than before.
Jeremy Smith’s push for a change in the law is fueled by two petitions, one electronic on the House of Commons website and another to the Ontario government, available from over 100 provincial cannabis retailers #LdnOnt https: // t. can be found .co / LHxjq8y99y
– 980 CFPL London News (@ AM980News) July 21, 2021
Inspired by his cannabis experience, Smith was interested in opening a restaurant that would serve cannabis-infused meals in-house and also ship them to other customers as prepackaged meals.
He even picked a name for the restaurant – Les Munchies. But Smith, who once worked in the food industry for five years, found that legal obstacles stood in his way.
Changes are required at both the federal and state levels
According to the federal law on cannabis, restaurants are not allowed to produce food containing cannabis.
In fact, cannabis products cannot even be made in the same building as other edible products. Even if federal law allowed restaurants to produce cannabis-infused food, they would need provincial approval to sell.
Government officials told Smith that the first step in changing the law is to provide a proof of concept – proof that an idea is workable.
In response, Smith launched two petitions calling for change.
The first calls for change at the federal level. It was posted on the House of Commons website in July and received nearly 400 signatures in two months, including one from Timmins-James Bay NDP MP Charlie Angus.
The second petition consists of handwritten signatures and can be found in more than a hundred cannabis retail stores in southern Ontario from Hamilton to Windsor.
“Many MPPs have expressed their support for this initiative,” says Smith. “They think this is the year the [legislative] change due to damage from the pandemic. You see this initiative as an opportunity to help a troubled economy. “
Smith has already garnered more than 10,000 signatures and plans to petition some MPPs in Ontario before they return to Queen’s Park in October.
Restaurants Canada isn’t quite on board
Smith’s campaign would also benefit from support from the hospitality industry, but it seems unlikely he will get it.
Restaurants Canada, a national association representing the food service industry, has said that if cannabis is allowed to be sold in restaurants, it should be sold in existing restaurants.
Not in new cannabis-centric establishments like the one Smith is trying to envision – that could be expensive.
“To avoid cross-contamination between cannabis and non-cannabis foods, I suspect that completely separate prep areas may be required,” said Chad Finkelstein, partner at Dale & Lessmann, a Toronto-based law firm that provides legal expertise to the cannabis industry .
“That would be very costly.”
Nonetheless, Smith is determined to push for law changes and remains optimistic. He draws his greatest inspiration from people who, like him, depend on cannabis to treat health problems.
“A lot of people have told me about their health problems,” he says. “It feels great to be doing something to help them. I’ve never seen this as a career path, but I feel like I’m destined for it. “
Randi Druzin
Randi Druzin is a Toronto-based author and journalist. She has worked for several major media outlets, including the National Post and CBC, and has written for dozens of publications including The New York Times, Time Magazine, ESPN The Magazine, and The Globe and Mail.
View article by Randi Druzin
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