Tilray, the largest producer of medical marijuana in the Nanaimo region, is pleased with the federal government’s recent legislation on recreational marijuana, but sees some room for improvement.
Earlier this month, the federal government tabled legislation, known as the Cannabis Act, that would effectively legalize the production, distribution, and sale and possession of marijuana in Canada by July 2018.
The Cannabis Act, if passed, would allow Canadians over the age of 18 to possess up to 30 grams of dried marijuana, purchase it from licensed retailers, grow a maximum of four plants and produce cannabis products. The act also outlines strict punishments for those who sell or distribute marijuana to minors and forbids any advertising or branding of marijuana to minors.
Philippe Lucas, Tilray vice-president of research and advocacy, called the recent legislation a positive and historic step for Canada.
“That being said, there are still a lot of blanks that need to be filled as to how Canadians are going to access cannabis legally,” he said. “I don’t think anyone would suggest that we are going to get everything right off the bat.”
Under the proposed legislation, B.C. would be able to determine how recreational marijuana is licensed and distributed. The provinces would also be allowed to restrict businesses from selling or distributing cannabis and determine where adults can consume cannabis.
Lucas said he doesn’t believe recreational marijuana should be sold at liquor stores or relatively close to them, but does believe adults should be able to use recreational marijuana at nightclubs.
“We need to separate the point of sale and we also need to give fair access to adults,” he said. “What I mean by that is an adult in Canada should be able to choose between going to a nightclub that serves alcohol or an nightclub where they can vaporize or use cannabis.”
Although the legislation contains language that restricts recreational marijuana producers from creating packaging that appeals to youth, Lucas said it will need to address questions of branding and marketing of marijuana to adults. He said some variation of branding should be allowed in order to ensure adults are able to determine what kind of marijuana they would be buying.
“If we really want to ensure that adults have access to a quality product, I think we need to encourage branding in order to ensure that those who are producing a quality product can communicate that.”
Lucas said it is also important for the federal government to get the pricing of recreational marijuana right. He said there needs to be a balance between medical pricing and recreational pricing, while ensuring that recreational prices aren’t higher than the current street value of marijuana.
“If you don’t have price differentials between medical and recreational access, the medical marijuana program will disappear,” he said.
Tilray will remain a medical marijuana brand, according to Lucas, who said the company has been working with the federal government’s Task Force on Cannabis Legalization and Regulation during the consultation period on recreational marijuana.
He said Tilray is still pushing for the feds to remove any taxes on medical marijuana before the legislation passes.
“In Canada, no prescription drugs are taxed and neither should medical marijuana,” he said. “It’s something that we’ve been working on for a number of years in our lobbying efforts in Ottawa and we really do hope and anticipate that prior to passing the final stages of legalization that Canada will remove the taxes.”
Possessing and distributing marijuana for non-medical purposes remains illegal across Canada.