Anishinabek front-line workers to contribute to the Anishinabek Nation Cannabis Health Strategy – Anishinabek News
TORONTO—The Key Health and Social Factors for a Cannabis Strategy Forum hosted by the Anishinabek Nation Health Department in early March in Toronto brought together Anishinabek front-line workers to discuss the current challenges that the legalization of cannabis has created for their community. Participants also had the opportunity to identify gaps in services and resources to support the overall health and well-being of their citizens and provide recommendations throughout the forum that will contribute to the development of an Anishinabek Nation Cannabis Health Strategy.
Participants learned about cannabis from a multi-perspective approach from Sacred Indigenous Knowledge scholar (PhD equivalent in western-based education) and Executive Director of the Thunderbird Partnership Foundation, Carol Hopkins. She offered information about analytical tools such as frameworks developed by the Thunderbird Foundation that can be applied by Indigenous communities across Canada to address cannabis and opioid matters.
“We live in a culture of silence—we don’t know how to handle things when there are differences—differences are necessary,” she explained. “In the Train the Trainer program, there’s a section of having community conversations and how to listen in a neutral way.”
