In partnership with TOQi and Aurora Cannabis, Cannabis Amnesty is offering two paid summer internships, designed to create economic opportunities for people from communities harmed by decades of cannabis prohibition while increasing Cannabis Amnesty’s capacity to develop groundbreaking advocacy and programming.
This Fellowship program is focused on mentorship and skill-building around effective communication and advocacy in the not-for-profit sector, particularly as it engages with government and the for-profit cannabis industry. Learn more here: toqifellowship4ca.com
We are Cannabis Amnesty, a not-for-profit advocacy organization committed to ensuring equity in Canada’s legal cannabis space and fair treatment for those disproportionately impacted by cannabis criminalization. As lawyers, activists and academics, we are acutely aware that historically, cannabis laws were unequally enforced by law enforcement in Canada, disproportionately impacting Black and Indigenous communities. Cannabis convictions limit economic opportunities for these groups, thus further entrenching systemic racism through poverty and disenfranchisement.
As Canadians benefit and prosper from the legalization of cannabis, these groups continue to suffer. One of the central objectives of Cannabis Amnesty is to disrupt the way that systemic racism in the criminal justice system has created barriers to economic opportunity for marginalized communities.
We are proud to partner with TOQi, a Black-owned cannabis technology business, and Aurora, a global cannabis pioneer, to create the TOQi Fellowship for Cannabis Amnesty. The TOQi Fellowship is a summer internship program for ambitious young people aged 21-30 who wish to gain experience in advocacy and communications and have an interest in social justice and the not-for-profit sector in Canada.
The TOQi Fellowship is a 12-week internship program that takes place in Toronto, Ontario–the location of the headquarters of Cannabis Amnesty. Two interns will be hired. The Fellowship will run from May 16, 2022 to August 12, 2022. Fellows are expected to work exclusively on TOQi Fellowship assignments Monday through Friday from 9 AM to 5 PM (with an hour lunch break) for the duration of the internship.
This Fellowship program is focused on mentorship and skill-building around effective communication and advocacy in the not-for-profit sector, particularly as it engages with government and the for-profit cannabis industry. TOQi Fellows will be directly supervised and mentored by members of the Board of Directors of Cannabis Amnesty (Annamaria Enenajor, Stephanie DiGiuseppe and Sameena Ibrahim) with the support of TOQi CEO, Drew Henson. TOQi Fellows will also have the opportunity to engage with program partner, Aurora Cannabis, to learn more about the cannabis industry.
The 12-week program will involve training on the following aspects of building a communications strategy for not-for-profit organizations:Understanding organizational operations and the governance of not-for-profits
Over the course of the internship, TOQi Fellows will be expected to perform the following duties:
The focus will be on empowering interns to use their unique voice to advance the mission of Cannabis Amnesty while increasing the capacity of the organization to advocate and educate.
The TOQi Fellowship offers interns a generous compensation package designed to challenge the market’s chronic under-valuation of the work of people who come from marginalized groups.
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On November 17, 2022, Bill C-5 received royal assent. This piece of legislation is an attempt by the Minister of Justice to address the overrepresentation of Black, Indigenous and people from marginalized communities within all aspects of the criminal justice system, but in particular, in convictions and incarceration.
Hidden within the provisions of Bill C-5 is cannabis amnesty.
Very few not-for-profit organizations can boast of having accomplished the central goal they set out to achieve. On May 5, 2018, Cannabis Amnesty launched a petition calling upon Parliament to enact legislation granting amnesty to all individuals for the offence of simple possession of cannabis. We argued that for amnesty to be effective, it must be free, automatic, and permanent.
After years of advocacy and government measures that simply did not go far enough, we finally have a law that provides true cannabis amnesty. The bill requires that all records of a conviction for simple possession of cannabis must automatically be kept separate and apart from other records of convictions by November 17, 2024, at no cost to the individual. While Bill C-5 does not style the treatment of these records as “expungements”, the record sequestration regime created by the bill will have a comparable effect of permanency, and it will be free and automatic.
The achievement of true cannabis amnesty through legislation is incredibly significant. Bill C-5 represents the culmination of the work of our organization and has a significant impact on our mission.
Our comprehensive report of Bill C-5 can be found here: chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://mcusercontent.com/00bd1458a14fa98eb22b526da/files/bd817699-d377-c40e-daf5-b076fc044dda/Report_on_Bill_C_5.pdf
Today, Cannabis Amnesty appears for the first time before the Supreme Court of Canada in Murray-Hall v. AGQ. In this important case, we will ask Canada’s highest court to recognize that the purpose of cannabis legalization was not just to reduce the burden of cannabis criminalization on our justice system, but also to reduce the burden on individuals with historical convictions related to non-violent cannabis offences, particularly the visible minorities, Indigenous people and those from marginalized communities who have been disproportionately harmed by cannabis criminalization. We argue that, given this broad and remedial purpose, the Quebec government should not be allowed to criminalize home cultivation of cannabis.
We would like to extend a special thank you to our pro bono counsel Ren Bucholz, representing us from Paliare Roland.
You can watch a live webcast of the hearing through the link in our bio.
This Thursday, September 15, Cannabis Amnesty will appear before the Supreme Court of Canada for the first time in Murray-Hall v. AGQ. In this case, the Supreme Court of Canada will decide whether Quebec’s ban on growing cannabis plants for personal use is constitutional.
We argue that Quebec’s ban frustrates the remedial purpose of Canada’s new cannabis law, which was to reduce the burden of cannabis convictions on individuals, particularly the visible minorities, Indigenous people and those from marginalized communities who have been disproportionately harmed by cannabis criminalization.
You can watch a live webcast of the hearing via the link in our bio.
Border crossings are tense encounters for those with cannabis records. Imagine being fined and detained by the U.S. for not having an entry waiver application for a law that no longer exists. It shouldn’t happen.
Tattoos are permanent. Cannabis charges shouldn’t be.
We recently partnered with @sistermerci at the KIND Golf Invitational to raise donations for Cannabis Amnesty. Donors had the opportunity to get a flash tattoo designed by Toronto-based tattoo artist @destroyallthetime, and their donations will help us bring justice to those unfairly impacted by cannabis prohibition.
The system is unjust. Imagine a conviction for a now-legal drug hampering your ability to get a job. Now imagine that same conviction blocking your shot at public housing. It’s an unfortunate reality that too many are facing.
Cannabis convictions can have devastating collateral consequences. Education, employment, volunteering, housing, parental rights and more are affected, limiting an individual`s ability to participate in society. It’s time to wipe the slate clean.
We advocate for justice and fairness in Canada’s cannabis laws. Thousands of Canadians continue to experience serious consequences of having a criminal conviction for cannabis-related offences. Help us make this right.
Cannabis is legal. There’s a shop on every corner. Licensed producers are cashing in. Meanwhile, an estimated 500,000 people still have a cannabis-related offence on their record. Our drug laws have progressed, but justice has some catching up to do.
The regulations of drugs in Canada is historically rooted in racism. Today, it’s seen in the disproportionate harm done to racialized communities in some of our biggest cities. This new era of cannabis needs to be one of equality.
The harm is disproportionate.
Only 2% of cannabis industry leaders are Black or Indigenous. This lack of representation is rooted in history; racialized communities have been disproportionately impacted by cannabis prohibition because of discriminatory enforcement. Together we can change this by providing opportunities to those negatively affected by prohibition
#SparkJointsSparkChange #SparkUp4Justice #RCCforjustice
Bill C-93 only suspends possession records. These records need to be deleted for good. Without complete expungement, the door is always open for convictions to be reinstated or accidentally disclosed. The current way is not enough.
Dana Passmore
Retail Ambassador
Dana Passmore was 20 years old studying criminology when cannabis was first legalized, and it fascinated her to think about how an unprecedented federal legalization framework was going to function following 100 years of prohibition. It wasn’t long before she learned about the shortcomings of the Cannabis Act that caused those with pre-legalization charges for cannabis related offences to be left in a perpetual state of criminalization. Knowing that so many people were (and are) still facing the consequences for engaging in an activity that has since become legal never sat right with her, so she started getting involved in advocacy. Dana pursued a Masters of Public Policy and Administration degree to get a better understanding of how policy tools are selected, developed, and implemented from an institutional standpoint, and has used the critical thinking skills she has gained throughout my education to develop a major research project that sheds light on the socioeconomic shortcomings of Canada’s cannabis legalization framework.
Dana started following Cannabis Amnesty in 2019 after becoming completely enthralled by their advocacy work. After three years of quietly supporting their contributions to the legal cannabis space, in 2022, she began volunteering as Cannabis Amnesty’s Retail Ambassador and works to bring the Cannabis Amnesty mission to the retail space to inspire as much engagement as possible. Dana is a proud cofounder of the first-of-its-kind Joints for Justice initiative that drives profits of an OCS-listed cannabis product to the organization, and will keep working alongside this incredible organization until cannabis criminal records are erased.
Laura Liscio
Project Manager, Pardon Clinic Pilot Project
Laura Liscio has a BA (Honours) from Queen’s University. She was called to the bar in 2009 after attending law school at the University of Calgary. While at law school Laura spent 3 years working at the student legal clinic in various roles, as a group leader mentoring other students, and as a full time summer employee. Upon graduating, she received the Provincial Judges’ Award for outstanding contribution at Student Legal Assistance. She was the Volunteer Coordinator at the Volunteer Lawyer Service run by the Calgary Bar Association, where she matched charities and non-profits with the probono services of lawyers, and was also a frequent volunteer at Inn from the Cold.
Laura knew criminal law was her calling early in her legal career. During law school, she worked at the criminal firm of VanHarten Foster Iovinelli and Joshi where she also completed her articles.
When she returned home to Toronto in 2009, Laura practiced at Bernstein Newman and Associates for 4 years before opening her own practice in Toronto in 2013. Laura has an interest in youth work and the rights of young people in the criminal justice system. She has served as CLA representative at 311 Jarvis for 2 terms.
In her criminal defence practice, Laura successfully defends youth and adults from very serious charges including homicide. She is very passionate about issues surrounding racial profiling, accountability for police misconduct, the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the presumption of innocence and the expungement of criminal records (convictions and non-convictions).
Laura joined the Cannabis Amnesty team in 2021 as the Project Manager for the Pardon Clinics Pilot Project, which resulted in the development of the Pardon Clinic Toolkit.
Aisha Abawajy
Aisha (she/her) is a second-generation Canadian with Oromo roots. She starts her second year at the Lincoln Alexander School of Law in the fall. She completed her undergraduate degree in Applied Computer Science with a minor in political science in her hometown Kjipuktuk, Mi’kma’ki (Halifax, Nova Scotia), before moving to Toronto to attend law school. Aisha has been involved in student politics and grassroots organizing since high school. She has most recently been the President of the Dalhousie Student Union (2019 – 2020) and the Co-President of the Black Law Students’ Association (2022 – 2023). Aisha strongly believes that when individuals come together and organize strategically around inequities, system change is possible. As a young abolitionist, Aisha is very interested in the radical transformation of our justice system. She believes that making space for critical conversations on the inequities of society is an important first step in addressing them and develops anti-oppression workshops around social justice, community care, solidarity between movements and more as a freelance facilitator. Aisha is also passionate about music, styling curly or textured hair and mental health.
Theo Rodriguez-Garzon
Theo Rodriguez-Garzon is one of two 2022 TOQi Fellows for Cannabis Amnesty. Their enthusiasm for mutual-aid, advocacy, and community building led them to Cannabis Amnesty, where they hope to utilize their design and content creation skills to advocate for those impacted by cannabis-related convictions.
Before joining Cannabis Amnesty, Theo studied professional communications at Toronto Metropolitan University, and worked as an undergraduate research assistant for the Explanatory Journalism Project. Theo is also a drag artist and performer, hoping to imbue their creative flair into their advocacy work alongside Cannabis Amnesty. They are passionate about art, literature and design, and are eager to put their skills to the service of those advocating for true cannabis amnesty, and equity within the cannabis industry.
Akwasi Owusu-Bempah
Board Member
Akwasi Owusu-Bempah (PhD) is an academic, author and changemaker. He is a professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of Toronto, an Affiliate Scientist at Canada’s Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Race Equity Lead at the Centre on Drug Policy Evaluation and Director of Research for Cannabis Amnesty. He also serves as Chair of the Governing Board of Massey College. Akwasi’s academic work has examined the racialized nature of drug law enforcement in North America. He has collaborated with major media outlets, such as the Toronto Star and Vice News to advance public dialogue about the perils of the war on drugs.
He recently sat as a member of Health Canada’s Expert Task Force on Substance Use and contributed to the City of Toronto’s decriminalization efforts. With an eye on social justice, he is currently exploring how cannabis legalization is being used as a means to redress the various harms caused by drug prohibition. He is the author of Waiting to Inhale: Race, Cannabis and the End of Prohibition with Tahira Rehmatullah (2023, MIT Press).
Akwasi began his academic career in the United States at Indiana University, Bloomington. Prior to becoming a professor, he held positions with Canada’s National Judicial Institute, the Public Health Agency of Canada, and Ontario’s Ministry of the Solicitor General. He frequently appears on radio and tv and publishes regularly in academic and popular forums. Akwasi’s work and commentary has recently been featured in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Forbes, The Guardian, and The Globe and Mail.
Sameena Ibrahim
Director of Marketing and Communications
Board Member
Sameena Ibrahim is a brand and strategy leader with over a decade of global experience working in the sports, lifestyle and cannabis sectors. Her role at Cannabis Amnesty is Director of Marketing & Communications, and she has led the brand re-launch by bringing in the multiple award-winning agency, Cossette, to work on strategy, design and creative for the organization.
Prior to joining Cannabis Amnesty, Sameena was based in Dubai, where she worked at adidas, managing PR and Brand Activations for the iconic sports brand and its subsidiaries across the Middle East and North Africa. Since moving to Toronto in 2019, she has worked in the cannabis industry, building brand and retail strategies while navigating the industry’s constant evolution as an immigrant WOC. She is passionate about equity in the cannabis industry and believes that there is a long way to go in recognizing and undoing the harms that decades of prohibition has caused.
Stephanie DiGiuseppe
Director of Operations
Board Member
Stephanie DiGiuseppe is a founding member of Cannabis Amnesty, a partner at a Toronto litigation firm, and an advocate for systemic change in the areas of criminal justice reform and equality, diversity and inclusion.
Stephanie’s advocacy work spans from reducing barriers and increasing capacities for youth in the criminal justice and school system, lobbying the Canadian government for humane and compassionate justice system reform, and working with communities affected by cannabis prohibition through her work with Cannabis Amnesty.
As Cannabis Amnesty’s Director of Operations, Stephanie has managed key partnerships with industry leaders such as Canopy Growth, Houseplant, Hiku Brands, HEXO, Aurora and others. She has spearheaded some of Cannabis Amnesty’s most exciting projects, including the Doja x Cannabis Amnesty PARDON sub campaign and PARDON truck activation, which was a finalist for the 2019 Canadian Cannabis Award for Top Non-Profit, Charity or Community Initiative.
In the courtroom, Stephanie defends individuals in complex criminal and public law proceedings and has been counsel on some of Canada’s most high profile criminal case. In 2020, Stephanie received the Precedent Setter Award, which recognizes lawyers who have “become masters of their practice areas and agents of change in the community”. In 2022, Stephanie was selected by her peers as one of Canada’s “Best Lawyers” in the area of criminal defence and in 2021 as one of Toronto’s Top Criminal Defence Lawyers by Post City’s TRNTOPublication.
Annamaria Enenajor
Executive Director
Board Chair
Annamaria founded Cannabis Amnesty in 2018 and has been its driving force since its inception. Described by the Toronto Star as a “brilliant, young legal mind,” Annamaria Enenajor is an indefatigable advocate both inside and outside the courtroom. She is a partner at Ruby Shiller Enenajor DiGiuseppe, Barristers, one of Canada’s Top 10 criminal law boutiques according to Canadian Lawyer magazine. She practises criminal, regulatory and constitutional law as well as civil law when it involves state accountability. She has argued before all levels of court in Ontario and at the Supreme Court of Canada. Annamaria graduated from the McGill Faculty of Law as the Principal David L. Johnston Gold Medalist with both common law and civil law degrees in 2012 and subsequently clerked at the Supreme Court of Canada for Chief Justice Richard Wagner.
Annamaria is an outspoken public advocate for evidence-based and compassionate criminal justice reform, and frequently writes, lectures and consults on access to justice and creating a cannabis legalization regime that is equitable and inclusive for all Canadians. Her work has been profiled in Flare, the Toronto Star, The Globe and Mail, and Toronto Life. She has received numerous awards and recognitions for her public advocacy, including being named one of the 50 most influential Torontonians of 2018 by Toronto Life and one of the 32 Women of the Year in 2018 by Chatelaine.
