The
legalization of cannabis in coming months will offer a clear
opportunity for provinces to shut down the black market for the drug and
put an end to any notion there are still "grey" areas in Canadian law,
top Liberal officials said.
In a
joint interview, federal Health Minister Ginette Petitpas Taylor and her
parliamentary secretary, former Toronto police chief Bill Blair, said
the new regime for legal marijuana will vary by province, as different
rules are being put in place for distribution and retail.
"There
is no one-size-fits-all … I'm really comfortable with leaving it up,
for example, to the British Columbia government that knows its
communities, that has a direct relationship with municipalities and
local officials, to develop a distribution system that works in the
context of British Columbia," Mr. Blair said.
However,
Mr. Blair and Ms. Petitpas Taylor said the goal will be to put an end
to the current situation, in which medical cannabis growers and illegal
dispensaries are selling their products to recreational users. In their
view, the recreational regime should be strict, especially in the early
going, and only loosen up over time if data and research back up such
changes.
"I
don't think we can get into this notion of there being anything that is
grey," said Mr. Blair, a Liberal MP. "It is black-letter law."
The
biggest challenge of the new regime will be to displace existing
infrastructure through which cannabis and edible products are illegally
sold in physical stores and through the internet in Canada.
The
government hopes that once the drug becomes officially legal, consumers
will be convinced to buy through government-regulated retailers, with
law-enforcement authorities continuing to crack down on other outlets.
Statistics Canada estimates that the country's cannabis black market was worth as much as $6.2-billion in 2015.
A recent study the agency released pegged the underground cannabis
industry as moving about 697,500 kilograms of product that year. That
dwarfs the 33,482 kilograms of dried flower and cannabis oil delivered
last fiscal year by the federally regulated medical mail-order system,
according to Health Canada.
Ms.
Petitpas Taylor said the illegal market for cannabis will not disappear
with the flick of a switch, but that everyone should work together to
better protect young Canadians and remove criminal elements from the
production chain.
"The
system is not going to be perfect in July, 2018," she said. "With
respect to the black market, we certainly want to make a dent in it. Do
we think it will happen overnight? Absolutely not."
The
federal viewpoint is largely in line with various provincial
governments, such as Ontario and Quebec, which have opted for
restrictive state-run retailing regimes.
But
British Columbia, long home to the country's largest network of illicit
cannabis producers and more than a hundred illegal pot shops, appears
more open to bringing those involved in its sizable cannabis black
market into the regulatory fold. At the end of January, B.C. is expected
to release the full details of its cannabis legislation, including how
it plans to break up the black market.
Vancouver
Councillor Kerry Jang, co-chair of B.C.'s provincial-municipal
committee in charge of crafting the province's cannabis rules, said
Ottawa has to make buying the substance from a legal operator as easy as
possible if it wants the new regime to displace the underground trade.
"Legalization
in itself will not end the black market unless there is price point and
there is accessibility and – most of all – variety," said Mr. Jang.
In
December, bureaucrats with B.C.'s cannabis committee and Health
Canada's Cannabis Legalization and Regulation Secretariat met in
Vancouver with more than 50 growers, cultivators, processors and at
least one person involved with the thriving illegal online dispensary
sector. The goal was a frank, informed discussion between two parties
that had never really interacted, according to organizer Rosy Mondin,
executive director at the non-profit Cannabis Trade Alliance of Canada,
a national advocacy group representing small- to medium-scale cannabis
businesses.
"When
[federal and provincial bureaucrats] come to roundtables like this,
they really see 'Holy crap, that could be my uncle or my aunt,'" said
Ms. Mondin, who is also CEO of Quadron Cannatech Corporation, which is
involved with the extraction of cannabis compounds. "It's really normal
Canadians that are doing this, we're not talking about people who are
running thousands of kilos across the border."
It
will be key for Ottawa and the provinces to allow small growers and
other cannabis businesses to get licensed properly, otherwise large
swaths of the existing industry will remain underground, Ms. Mondin
said. At the December meeting, a core discussion hinged around how small
a farm needs to be in order to get a special craft or micro-producer
licence, she said.
"They have to
open it up enough to allow these people to come in because the reality
is: If they don't, these people will continue to do what they do because
they've done so under the threat of criminal sanctions before and now
we're looking at [just] regulatory fines," she said.
Rosalie
Wyonch, a policy analyst at the C.D. Howe Institute, said one of the
challenges of the new regime will be to convince frequent users to move
into the legal market. As it stands, frequent users can get bulk prices
on the black market and it remains unclear whether legal retailers will
be able to compete on that front.
"Chances
are, the consumers who are the most price-sensitive, and who aren't
willing to pay a premium to access the legal market, are the daily
users," she said. "Chances are they will stay where they are."
The
legislation to legalize cannabis for all adult users across the country
still needs to be approved by the Senate, where the Conservatives are
promising to go over Bill C-45 with a fine-tooth comb. Ottawa's target
is to legalize cannabis by July.
"I'm
very confident that we will be able to meet that date," said Ms.
Petitpas Taylor. "Most provinces have indicated they feel they will be
ready before that date, and that is certainly our aim."
She
said that between now and the passage of the new law, various levels of
government have to continue to inform kids, parents, teachers and other
stakeholders about the consequences of legalization and cannabis use.
For
now, Ottawa faces the delicate task of building up a
multibillion-dollar industry, while putting public-health goals ahead of
generating revenue.
"How do we do
this in a way that doesn't promote the use of this drug but doesn't
criminalize Canadians for that choice either?" Mr. Blair asked. "Yes,
it's complicated and it may be imperfect and we may find some things
need to be adapted and changed, and we're willing to do that."
While
there is pressure from some members of the existing cannabis industry
to loosen up the rules surrounding the growth and sale of the product,
the federal government is sticking by its promise to keep a tight lid on
the market, especially in the initial months.
"If,
through experience, you learn there are things you could do in a
different way or perhaps with less strict regulation, then you allow
your experience to inform that. As far as predicting when that might
change, we are beginning, quite appropriately, in a very cautious,
careful and safe way.
Our experience will inform if and when we might
change our regulatory approach," Mr. Blair said.
No comments:
Post a Comment