{"id":17685,"date":"2016-08-15T10:48:20","date_gmt":"2016-08-15T14:48:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/allin\/?p=17685"},"modified":"2020-03-26T03:55:07","modified_gmt":"2020-03-26T07:55:07","slug":"smiths-falls-shindig-was-nothing-to-toke-about","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/allin\/2016\/08\/15\/smiths-falls-shindig-was-nothing-to-toke-about\/","title":{"rendered":"Mainstream marijuana in Smiths Falls"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"BlakDenim

BlakDenim on stage at the Front Yard Shindig in Smiths Falls, Ontario. Photo by James Morgan<\/p><\/div>\n

There was no reefer madness at the Front Yard Shindig in Smiths Falls. \u00a0The lineup of the free concert on August 13th<\/sup> included Joel Plaskett Emergency, <\/em>hip-hop\/soul\/funk act BlakDenim, <\/em>and alternative ensemble, The Balconies.<\/em>\u00a0 The Shindig, which prevailed despite heavy rain, was presented by and held on the lawn of Tweed Inc., a medical marijuana grower and processor.\u00a0 That\u2019s right–Mary Jane, pot, weed, grass, and if you want to be scientific, cannabis sativa<\/em>.\u00a0 Medical marijuana itself isn\u2019t really a big shock to Canadians, it\u2019s been legal here for nearly 20 years.\u00a0 It\u2019s smoking it for fun that\u2019s still illegal\u2014although the Trudeau government is planning to change that soon.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>

The vaporizer lounge tent was for authorized medicinal cannabis users only. Photo by James Morgan<\/p><\/div>\n

Tweed set up shop in Smiths Falls in 2014 in the former Hershey chocolate factory with plans to become a respectable, science-based provider of cannabis products for medicinal users.\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019re part of the community,\u201d said CEO Bruce Linton, and noted they wanted to hold family-friendly\u00a0event that went against the stereotypes of things associated with marijuana.\u00a0 He called the Shindig a party \u201con the grass in front of a factory that makes grass.\u201d\u00a0 No booze was available or allowed.\u00a0 Cannabis was only allowed for authorized medicinal users at a secluded vaporizer lounge tent, behind a fence and far from the stage. \u00a0Cigarette smokers were banished to the sidelines.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Scenes<\/a>

No hippies or stoners. Spectators like these were more\u00a0common at the Shindig. Photo by James Morgan<\/p><\/div>\n

Linton said when Tweed first planned to locate in Smiths Falls, federal health authorities required approval from the town council, police force, and the fire department.\u00a0 If even one out of three objected, Tweed would have had to find another home.\u00a0 Linton said there was concern among citizens about a plant full of pot plants opening up in town but the local authorities were supportive.\u00a0 270 people now work at Tweed and it was recently listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX).<\/a><\/a><\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>

The only real problem was the rain. A pond began forming in front of the stage. Photo by James Morgan<\/p><\/div>\n

With full legalization of cannabis expected in Canada next year, Linton said Tweed\u2019s effort right now is on branding and developing products that are safe, reliable, and respectable for consumers.\u00a0 The tobacco industry in Canada isn\u2019t allowed to sponsor events like concerts.\u00a0 Linton said he doesn\u2019t think that will happen to the cannabis industry and that it will instead be regulated like alcohol\u2014and that industry is allowed to sponsor cultural and community events.\u00a0 Surprisingly, Linton is not disappointed with the recent decision by the US Food and Drug Administration to continue federal prohibition of cannabis.\u00a0 He said that just means Canada can set a good example that the US can follow later on.<\/p>\n

The crowd was about as opposite to a group of stoners as it could get.\u00a0 There were parents and grandparents with children in strollers.\u00a0 The only scent of marijuana I faintly noticed was near the factory loading dock.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0I\u2019ve smelled more walking across the University of Ottawa campus.\u00a0 I only saw one person wearing a pro-pot t-shirt, the one of the McDonald\u2019s golden arches with the word \u201cMarijuana\u201d on it instead.\u00a0 Aside from being entertaining, the Front Yard Shindig reflected a new reality in Canada.\u00a0 There is now a legitimate cannabis industry with a legitimate market.\u00a0 Cannabis use\u2014for whatever reason, is here to stay and will have a much more public image.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There was no reefer madness at the Front Yard Shindig in Smiths Falls. \u00a0The lineup […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":112,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[880,13959,7131,6671],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/allin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17685"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/allin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/allin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/allin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/112"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/allin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17685"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/allin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17685\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22055,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/allin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17685\/revisions\/22055"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/allin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17685"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/allin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17685"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/allin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17685"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}