Most articles talk about the medical facts of cannabis—how it may help manage chronic pain, PTSD, or anxiety, and how patients across Canada are finally gaining access through legal channels. But today, let’s look at a different set of facts—the ones that have more to do with politics than with plant science.

While thousands of Canadians were being charged for simple possession, the very people responsible for enforcing prohibition were quietly positioning themselves to profit from legalization. When the Cannabis Act came into force in 2018, it didn’t just open doors for patients and growers—it opened boardrooms for politicians, former police chiefs, and their friends.

Take Julian Fantino, once Toronto’s Police Chief and a Conservative MP. He famously compared legalizing cannabis to legalizing murder. Yet just a few years later, he became Executive Chairman of Aleafia Health, a major medical cannabis company licensed by Health Canada. Alongside him was Raf Souccar, a former RCMP deputy commissioner who had spent decades leading anti-drug operations before co-founding the same company.

Then there’s Chuck Rifici, the former CFO of the Liberal Party of Canada, who co-founded Tweed Marijuana Inc.—now Canopy Growth, one of the largest cannabis producers in the world. His dual role as party insider and industry pioneer drew sharp criticism, with many questioning whether political connections gave early companies an advantage in securing their commercial cannabis licences.

Even Brian Mulroney, Canada’s former Prime Minister, joined the board of Acreage Holdings, a U.S.-based cannabis corporation later linked to Canopy Growth. And in Ontario, former Premier Ernie Eves became chairman of Timeless Herbal Care, while George Smitherman, another former Ontario Liberal cabinet minister, took executive positions in early cannabis startups.

And of course, Bill Blair, the former Toronto police chief who once enforced cannabis laws, became the Liberal government’s point man on legalization. While Blair himself isn’t in the cannabis business, many of his former colleagues and associates—like Kim Derry and George Smitherman—were lobbying for cannabis projects while Blair oversaw the national file.

It’s ironic, but also deeply revealing. The very system that punished small growers and patients for years is now dominated by corporate players led by those same enforcers and lawmakers. While this doesn’t diminish the medical value of cannabis or the progress we’ve made, it’s a reminder that legalization was never just about compassion—it was also about control, influence, and economics.

Fact File: Politicians, Power, and Cannabis Profits

Julian Fantino
Former Toronto Police Chief, OPP Commissioner, and Conservative MP
→ Executive Chairman and co-founder of Aleafia Health
→ Company valued at over $350 million CAD at its 2019 peak; publicly traded on the TSX before restructuring in 2023.

Raf Souccar
Former RCMP Deputy Commissioner
→ Co-founder and CEO of Aleafia Total Health Network
→ Part of the same Aleafia Health Group, contributing to its multimillion-dollar valuation.

Chuck Rifici
Former CFO of the Liberal Party of Canada
→ Co-founder of Tweed Marijuana Inc., which became Canopy Growth Corporation
→ Canopy Growth reached a market cap of over $20 billion CAD at its 2019 high — one of the largest in global cannabis history.

Brian Mulroney
Former Prime Minister of Canada (1984–1993)
→ Board member of Acreage Holdings (U.S.-based cannabis corporation)
→ Company valued at $3–5 billion CAD during its 2019 merger talks with Canopy Growth.

Ernie Eves
Former Premier of Ontario
→ Chairman of Timeless Herbal Care (Jamaica-based medical cannabis company)
→ Estimated private company valuation around $100 million CAD, one of the Caribbean’s first licensed producers.

George Smitherman
Former Ontario Liberal Deputy Premier and Minister of Health
→ Executive roles with THC Meds Ontario and other cannabis startups
→ Smaller-scale private operations with early-stage valuations around $10–25 million CAD.

Bill Blair
Former Toronto Police Chief, Federal Minister of Public Safety, and Minister of Justice
→ Oversaw the Cannabis Act implementation and national legalization framework
→ No direct cannabis company role, but key architect of Canada’s $10-billion-a-year legal cannabis industry.

At GrowLegally, we’ve seen the other side of that story. We’ve helped thousands of Canadians—including veterans, seniors, and patients in chronic pain—gain access to medical cannabis safely and legally under Health Canada’s Personal Grow Licence program. These are the real faces of legalization—the patients, not the politicians.

If you’re ready to grow your own medical cannabis or explore whether it’s right for you, connect with a trusted medical cannabis clinic in Toronto or anywhere in Canada. Our compassionate team of doctors and educators will help you every step of the way, because at GrowLegally, your health—not politics—is what truly matters.