CANNABIS CULTURE – Jeremy Smith wants to transform the way Canadians access edibles, and he has a petition circulating through Ontario seeking out federal and provincial changes.
“There are currently edibles that are legal for sale and consumption, but these raise concerns for those who are diabetic, for those with diseases that may not allow their bodies to ingest these options, and for those that simply enjoy a broader spectrum of consumables,” Smith said in an interview with Cannabis Culture,
He named his new business, Les Munchies.
“The petition requests changes that would permit restaurants and/or cafes to legally be established with a cannabis-infused menu and the ability to offer delivery on pre-made nutritional meals to those in need,”
Jeremy Smith spent hours in hospital writing a petition for legislative change and business proposal for Les Munchies
Smith understands firsthand the need for legislative changes around edibles. A father of 2 and former bodybuilder with over a decade working as bar security, he went to school for policing with goals to work as border security. Those dreams came to a crashing halt when, while working at a hospital, he had a severe and sudden onset of symptoms and became severely ill.
After seemingly endless imaging and testing, he was diagnosed with eosinophilic esophagitis. He also suffers from Crohn’s disease, an autoimmune disorder, issues with testosterone requiring supplementation, and developed blood clots throughout his entire body, including both of his lungs.
Doctors prescribed Smith Percocet, but he stopped taking them shortly after. “The second I took these prescribed medications, my health, my life just went downhill.” He could no longer do simple things, like play with his children or carry them around, and he would often spend up to 20 hours a day in hospital undergoing testing and treatment.
Facing such a drastic change in his life, and unable to smoke because of his lung condition, Smith sought out CBD oil edibles. But as he explained, “Every time I would try and get edibles, it’s all chocolate, it’s all sugar, it’s all just garbage stuff. No nutritional value. I would end up in the bathroom.”
He also knew that this was a prevalent problem for many. Smoking can exacerbate medical conditions, and often people who are ill or at the end of their life are already taking copious amounts of pills and do not want to add more, even if it could provide potential relief.
“The amount of people that I saw with Parkinson’s, arthritis, and cancer that were always outside smoking weed,” said Smith. “I wondered why we cannot just give them a nutritional (cannabis-infused) meal and send it to them, and they just get to sit in their bed and eat. They are not putting more smoke or pills in their body, but instead just taking straight CBD or CBN, whatever they need for their condition.”
Smith started using his time in hospital to contact the Ministry of Health, Health Canada, Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario, Food and Drugs Administration, Ontario Cannabis Store, and the City Hall in London, inquiring about amending the cannabis legislation to allow the operation of a business that can produce and sell cannabis pre-made meals for home delivery and restaurants and/or cafés in Ontario. He quickly found out that no one else was looking into this logical next step for the cannabis industry and developed his petition for change.
He then approached multiple members of the Provincial Parliament and House of Commons to confirm he was taking the proper steps to ensure the best possible outcome for the petition to be successful and not be dismissed.
From there he sent the petition to a cannabis lawyer and to the office of a Member of Provincial Parliament for guidance, which led to the petition he currently has circulating across southern Ontario today with plans to present to Parliament in the fall of 2021. He is also petitioning for the same changes nationally, having reached out to Jagmeet Singh and others on a federal level, as well as receiving support from the Indigenous community, and the petition has been approved by The House of Commons with a member of Parliament approving it as well.
With the cannabis industry generating over $8b in Canada annually, and edibles being the second most popular form of consumption, Smith wants to franchise Les Munchies across Canada. If his petition is approved, there would a ripple effect, including the development of a true culinary cannabis industry. He has been in talks with many chefs and higher-education institutions, who are also on board with the proposed changes.
“These changes will assist with increasing tourism to Canada and will give (Canadians) the opportunity to use their skills in Canada. Colleges and universities will be able to provide more training programs and increase international students coming for better education. Educational institutions will also be able to obtain increased funding for research and gain additional profits by offering an even broader spectrum of programs.”
“With the increasing number of small businesses that have closed since Covid-19 took place, this new industry will help increase jobs and will contribute to decreasing the unemployment rate throughout Ontario and Canada,” stated Smith. “I want to be Canadian driven, Canadian owned, and support the Canadian economy.”
“Additionally, changing the cannabis legislation will continue to aid in the decreasing financial gains from the illegal sales of homemade consumables. Likewise, legalizing consumable cannabis will assist with controlling the quality of the consumables and reinsure consumers that do ingest a cannabis meal feel safe by knowing that they have purchased goods that have implemented standards and regulations.”
Regarding Smith’s petition, Health Canada said that, “while a personal chef, restaurant or commercial kitchen could seek a federal license to produce edible cannabis products for commercial purposes, they would not be able to sell those products to the public without a provincial or territorial license. Any product prepared by a personal chef, restaurant or commercial kitchen would need to comply with all of the requirements set out in the regulations.”
“If permitted by provincial or territorial law, packaged and labelled cannabis products manufactured by a federal license holder could potentially be purchased and consumed by adults in a space authorized by a province or territory for consumption.”
Smith is confident that he can convince Health Canada of the validity of his petition. With over 300,000 Canadians currently prescribed cannabis for medical use, the need is evident.
Smith will not stop in his fight to spearhead change. He looks forward to seeing the stigma around edibles gone, the economy boosted, and unlimited potential for current and future generations. “I need to be able to leave something for (my kids) just in case the doctors are right and I don’t get to live to 60, 70, or see my grandkids. I would rather show them that life can kick your butt, but you have to kick back and keep fighting.”
