Is Canadian cannabis experiencing Stockholm Syndrome?
Canadians, take action!
Three and half years into legalization, a much-anticipated Health Canada review of the cannabis regulations has just been published. Aside from the fact that the review is well overdue, HC’s proposed changes couldn’t be more underwhelming.
HC is proposing (no guarantees they will pass, as we are in a consultation phase) a loosening of restrictions around how many cannabis beverages can be sold as well as steps to make product testing and research easier. While any liberalization is welcome, this is a snail’s step. To wit, beverages represent less than 2% of total legal cannabis consumed in Canada. And testing has never been a hot-button issue for LPs.
Dare I say life threatening, industry challenges remain. These includes the existence of provincial wholesaling monopolies, punitive (for craft growers) excise taxes, onerous packaging requirements, and illogical branding restrictions. And don’t get me started on the silliness of having 12 different market jurisdictions or the fact that hemp-based CBD products continue to be treated in the same way as cannabis.
Sadly, the sector will continue to suffer under the yoke of a regulatory framework that restricts product choice & consumer education, inflates overall costs and unfairly constrains profitability. While the rules may have made sense in 2018, many of them are clearly outdated based on market experience and regulatory best practice from other jurisdictions.
Ironically, the industry response has been muted if not mildly celebratory and thankful. This could reflect typical Canadian (but not trucker) passivity, fear of government retribution or some economic version of the Stockholm Syndrome – a psychological condition whereby the captive learns to love their kidnappers. Moving forward, the struggling cannabis sector must jettison the naive belief that the rulebook will inevitably improve if we just remain patient.
Both LPs and consumers should follow the example of leading, erudite industry voices like Dan Sutton from Tantalus Labs and demand change through media outreach, greater social media mobilization as well as more effective lobbying of elected officials and bureaucrats.
We are millions of consumers, supporting hundreds of companies which employ tens of thousands of workers and generate tens of billions of dollars of economic activity. Let’s get to work beginning with excise tax reform, softening branding & packaging restrictions (including measures to support sustainability), tempering license standards and allowing more direct sales to retail stores.
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