Economic Development

When I moved to the Kootenays in 1990, my first major social outing exposed me to the cannabis trade in the region. As a non-smoker, I have never indulged, but as someone working on food systems and agriculture, it was always evident to me that cannabis is inextricably linked to the food economy of our region. There is plenty of academic and anecdotal evidence that connects cannabis to countercultural influences. Perhaps it is linked to the ancient practices and cultures of the Indigenous peoples in this region, but the Kootenays has long attracted successive waves of non-conforming groups…