Opinion: The Conservatives should apply common sense to cannabis policy

By Shane Morris

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As the federal Liberals go up in smoke, Canada’s young cannabis industry faces the likelihood of the federal Conservatives running the recreational pot system for the first time. The Conservatives say they favour common-sense policy. Good. The legal cannabis industry, which now accounts for 20 per cent of all GDP from crop production, desperately needs a common-sense approach.

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Good Conservative policies could help clean up the red-tape mess the cannabis industry currently is entangled in and make the market work better for Canadian consumers. Moreover, as recreational cannabis becomes legal in more and more places around the globe (most recently in Germany) a common-sense approach could help Canada capitalize on our first-mover advantage.

To do that, the Conservatives must first ignore the cheap political urge to simply be “against” cannabis. They need to treat it like other recreational substances, such as beer. In fact, from a public health perspective, non-smoked oral consumption of cannabis is safer than drinking alcohol.

The Tories should also support innovation in the cannabis sector, thus encouraging entrepreneurs to invest in it. They need to bring forward the now long overdue review of the Cannabis Act. This would provide smarter regulations to allow for new advanced products. Sensibly amended regulations could also allow for social consumption locations (e.g., cannabis bars for beverages and edibles). A smarter, more precise tax/excise regime could nudge consumers to use safer products (e.g., edibles rather than smoking products) and allow better support for smaller operators. Some cannabis products are safer than others and should be allowed to have more attractive packaging, instead of facing the same restrictions all other products do.

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Common sense would also deregulate cannabinol (CBD). This non-intoxicating chemical found in cannabis plants is popular in wellness products around the world but is currently hostage to lazy and senseless regulation that treats it almost as strictly as THC.

Putting their own stamp on cannabis regulation is a real opportunity for the Tories. They can show they are smart, evidence-based, pro-consumer regulators, support the “freedom of individual Canadians to pursue their enlightened and legitimate self-interest within a free competitive economy” (as per the Conservative Party’s 2023 Policy Declaration), and are no longer your father’s Tories, a useful signal to younger voters. And they can do all this while protecting public health and ensuring the illegal cannabis market is finally fully eradicated.

It was the Conservative government of Stephen Harper that introduced a regulatory system for medical cannabis that — in common-sense ways — cut red tape and ensured people had access to cannabis produced under strict quality controls. The sky didn’t fall after they did this. It likely won’t now.

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Tory leader Pierre Poilievre enjoys toasting St. Patrick’s Day with a glass of whiskey in honour of his Irish grandparents. Maybe some day his grandchildren will toast him and his Conservative common sense with a glass of a small-batch Canadian cannabis beverage from a multigenerational local business started under his government.

Shane Morris runs a global cannabis consulting company. His proposal to regulate based on product type would have mixed effects on his Canadian clients.

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 Opinion: Cannabis industry needs smarter, more precise regulation and a lighter touch consistent with freedom Tories favour. Read more here  Read More  

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