Loosen Cannabis Rules, Says Former Fire and Flower Exec
Nathan Mison Lobbies Federal Government to Loosen Cannabis Rules Ahead of Cannabis Act Review – LPC
Ex-Fire and Flower executive Nathan Mison is calling for the federal government to loosen cannabis rules.
“Our primary focus has been on health and displacing the black market, but that should expand,” said Mison.
He points to the fact that legalization hasn’t brought doom and gloom including the cannabis consumption spike that many feared. (Australia also found the same a year after its cannabis law changes.)
“For three years we’ve learned these lessons — why don’t we loosen these rules?” he said, adding that the Canadian cannabis industry should be rewarded for operating responsibly.
Mison is now the co-founder and CEO of Diplomat Consulting, the co-chair of the National Cannabis Working Group with the Canadian Chamber of Commerce. The group “develops, reports on and advocates policy matters that will improve the growth and competitiveness of the Canadian cannabis industry”.
Mison outlined several ways to loosen cannabis rules to bring about a “dramatic liberalization of highly restricted marketing and consumption rules”. He sees Canada falling behind the US once again in both these areas. Cannabis lounges is one. The biggest stumbling block has been that they run afoul of provincial smoking laws. But Mison has a solution.
“Why can’t we have conversations where we have cannabis infused in foods and cannabis cocktails (to be served there)?” said Mison. He points out that border states such as Michigan and New York are “moving ahead on them”.
John Carle, executive director of the Alberta Cannabis Council, said cannabis marketing restrictions is another area where Canada should loosen cannabis rules.
“Just as you can sample wine or beer in a liquor store, you should be able to have a hoot of a joint or consume a tiny amount of edible just to get the flavour,” Carle said.
Stigma the Biggest Hurdle to Loosen Cannabis Rules – LPC
Mison said that the biggest hurdle to overcome to loosen cannabis rules is cannabis stigma.
“Our politicians are still caught in the stereotypical tropes of the past,” Mison said. “We have to get away from the fear we can’t talk about cannabis.”
Now that the industry is worth “at least” $16.5 billion, the government should recognize its value. And, he said, the value of the expertise Canada now has in cannabis production. He sees that expertise as another possible “export” for Canada.
Health Canada has not yet set a date or terms of reference for its review process, Mison said.
How likely is it that the National Cannabis Working Group will get the government to loosen cannabis rules? Traditionally, these things happen in baby steps. A major overhaul is highly unlikely. And in certain areas such as cannabis lounges, things get murky. The federal government can legalize cannabis lounges all they want. But without provincial buy-in, it’s meaningless.
Marketing is stickier. With instances of illegal copycat cannabis products, it’s hard to imagine that packaging rules will change. But it would be nice to see loosen cannabis rules somewhat in terms of legal cannabis marketing approaches.
Read the Full Story in the Calgary Herald
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