From the Editor

Changing of the Guard

By David Halpert

Back in our June issue, I looked at three concerns pertaining to the cannabis industry that the federal government should re-examine and/or amend as it comes on the heels of its threeyear review of The Cannabis Act this October. They included a loosening of marketing/advertising restrictions, a re-examination of packaging laws to make them more sustainable and appealing, as well as allowing cannabis delivery and online sales to private cannabis retailers where the provincial government has a monopoly (such as Ontario).

While these recommendations are certainly admirable and indeed warranted for many reasons, in hindsight they were also a tad selfish in that I and many others in the media would financially benefit from a retooling of the current cannabis laws. That said, with the federal review looming (and another federal election come and gone) I thought this would be a great time to look at the changes we’re fighting for every day, either directly or indirectly as a result of working in this industry, not necessarily to examine how far we’ve come per se but more a remainder of the challenges we still face and hope to change in the years to come.

In mid-August, the Cannabis Council of Canada issued a press release entitled ‘Election Ready: Canada’s Cannabis Industry Launches #FutureofCanadianCannabis’ wherein it outlined a series of seven tenets the association would like the federal government to re-examine come October. They are as follows: 1. Expunge criminal records for possession of cannabis for personal use. 2. Loosen the rules that restrict consumer education and harm reduction. 3. Get the profits of illicit cannabis out of the hands of criminals and the tax revenues of legal cannabis into the coffers of governments. 4. Remove the taxes on practitioner authorized medical cannabis. 5. Invest to increase the economic participation BIPOC communities in Canadian cannabis. 6. Enhance access to CBD wellness products, especially for seniors. 7. Promote the export of quality Canadian cannabis products to expanding global demand.

While I’m not one to be pessimistic, it’s unlikely the three-year review will result in any meaningful changes, if only because there are more pressing matters on most people’s radar (e.g. the pandemic, the economy, etc.). I think the sentiment was best put forth by Rick Savone, C3’s Board Chair and SVP of Global Government Relations at Aurora Cannabis, “These complementary initiatives.. reflect an important step in the maturity of a regulated industry. Canada’s cannabis industry has an extensive local reach and deep relationships, which are especially important since the Statutory Review of The Cannabis Act, set to begin in October 2021, is one of the first issues that newly elected MPs of the 44th Canadian Parliament will hear about.”

President / CEO, Straight Dope Media Inc.

@cannabispromag

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