The Supreme Court of Nova Scotia quashed Darren Marshall’s Cannabis Act and Excise Act convictions and ordered a new trial before a different Provincial Court judge.[1] Justice Joshua Arnold released the decision, R. v. Marshall, 2026 NSSC 332, on 29 October 2026.[1] The appeal court found that the trial judge ruled the guilty verdict was proven without ever hearing the defence’s oral closing arguments, after a series of adjournments and scheduling complications.[2] Arnold held that written submissions were not a complete substitute for oral advocacy in a criminal trial where liberty is at stake, and that the omission deprived the appellant of his right to make full answer and defence.[2]
Marshall ran the Flower Barn, a cannabis store, in the territory of Millbrook First Nation.[2] After complaints from the community, the RCMP visited the store in 2019 and warned Marshall to stop operating, and the charges followed an RCMP search of the dispensary in June 2021.[2] The June 2021 search of the dispensary seized numerous unstamped cannabis products.[2] The provincial court found Marshall guilty in a June 2024 decision and sentenced him in 2025 to a conditional sentence and a fine.[2]
Marshall’s notice of appeal, filed by lawyer Jack Lloyd, raised 14 grounds against the conduct of the trial, the dismissal of his Aboriginal and treaty-rights defence and his sentence.[1] The appeal turned on the oral closing arguments: the Crown made its submissions but the defence’s arguments were postponed, and after further delay, including the judge’s unexpected surgery, the judge announced her conclusion on guilt without hearing them.[1] The court found the trial judge’s failure to hear the defence inadvertent but serious, and held that Marshall did not have to prove that oral submissions would have changed the result.[1] The appeal ruling did not resolve Marshall’s other grounds, including the challenge to the summary dismissal of the Aboriginal and treaty-rights question, and simply ordered a new trial.[1]
While the appeal was pending, Marshall served more than six months of house arrest under the sentence given at trial before the convictions were quashed.[1] The Mi’kmaq Rights Association said it was not yet clear whether the Crown would seek a new trial, given that Marshall had already served a sentence for the offences.[1] The association said Mi’kmaw people operate and self-regulate the cannabis industry in Millbrook First Nation, with community support.[3]
