Canada’s Cannabis Market Blueprint for the US
Some See Canada as the Leader While Others Highlight Mistakes – LPC
A recent editorial in the Winnipeg Free Press touts Canada’s cannabis market blueprint, specifically for the US. (Please see link to full article below.) The article references all the fears and concerns that provincial governments and others had. Today, more than a year later, those fears did not come to pass.
“The sky has not fallen,” said the editorial, a consensus view of the editorial board. “No epidemic of cannabis addiction. No surge of stoned motorists weaving across the roads. No spike of industrial accidents involving marijuana use. You have to look closely to see any change in Canadian cannabis use and its effects.”
The editorial states that in fact Statistics Canada does just that. According to the agency, 17 per cent said they have used cannabis compared to 14 per cent before legalization. Given that fewer people will admit cannabis use when it’s not legal, that’s likely even. That’s a checkmark in the cannabis market blueprint.
What may not make its way to the US cannabis market blueprint is the retail model. There are approximately 400 stores in Canada, though only 24 cannabis retail stores in Ontario. (That may have recently risen to 25 stores.) However, only about 45 per cent of Canadians live within 10 kilometres of a cannabis retail store. That should change once Ontario opens up its cannabis retail market in 2020.
Cannabis Market Blueprint Already Being Developed in Individual States – LPC
In many ways, the cannabis market blueprint is already being developed in “early adopter” states such as Colorado and California.
“Canada’s experience with legal cannabis will be watched closely in the United States,” the editorial continues. “The US appears to be in the midst of gradually changing its mind about cannabis. Canada, along with California, Colorado and about half of the states, are a little ahead of the curve.”
But, the editorial argues, it’s the experience of Canada as a whole that will ultimately influence US cannabis legalization.
“Eventually, the US government will… stop wasting law enforcement efforts on catching, convicting and imprisoning cannabis users. Successful legalization in Canada should help pave the way for a more tolerant policy in the US.”
Not everyone believes Canada has the best cannabis market blueprint, based on comments at the bottom of the editorial. As always, it likely depends on your views of regulation. There are always hiccups when building a new industry from scratch. But stricter regulations here are also why vaping illness was so much more prevalent in the US than Canada. If the US — or any other country — is looking for a cannabis market blueprint, they could do a lot worse than Canada’s.
This editorial content from the LPC News Team provides analysis, insight, and perspective on current news articles. To read the source article this commentary is based upon, please click on the link below.
