The Canadian recreational cannabis industry is over six years old at this point, which is long enough to determine that the sky has not fallen with the end of prohibition. The sector has matured, fostered innovation, and even helped normalize cannabis use after decades of prohibition and negative propaganda.

Despite these achievements, little to no progress has been made on the massive restrictions that still exist in advertising, marketing, packaging, and retail. This ongoing embargo becomes a further eyesore when considering the cannabis advertising freedoms in legal states or even the alcohol industry here in Canada.

“[The US] has colours and designs on the packages, you can just see it all over the store,” said Matt Maurer, Chair of the Cannabis Law Group at Torkin Manes. “Canada on the other hand is incredibly restrictive. The default approach is, to paraphrase the Cannabis Act, you’re not allowed to advertise at all unless you do it in accordance with how we say you’re allowed. So you start from a position where you can’t do anything.”

The restrictive nature goes beyond advertising and into the retail framework itself. For example, anyone under the age limit is not allowed into a retail location, and in many parts of the country, it is still required for store windows to be opaque, which has been a breeding ground for robberies.

On the other hand, alcohol retailers allow accompanied minors, which makes it more convenient and safer for customers who have children with them, and liquor store windows are not obscured.

The government is aware of the double standard. “I think it’s impossible to not know that, given how the [cannabis] industry has been yelling at them for six or seven years about why we can give away free things on the top of a whiskey bottle, but we can’t do anything with cannabis,” said Maurer.

The reason changes to these areas have not been made is that the government simply has no incentive. “Who are the voters that the government would be pandering to in order to change it? It’s really just people in the cannabis industry and that’s not a large segment of voters.”

Baby steps

Despite the cannabis industry’s weak voting position, there are people lobbying for change. One such person is Paul McCarthy, President of the Cannabis Council of Canada. He feels that the government is well aware of the issues, and he’s persistently ringing the bell so they don’t forget.

“The Government of Canada is in the final stages of developing a regulatory package that would see amendments on security, packaging, labelling and a host of other things that Licensed Producers would like to see changed,” he said. 

“This past summer they conducted a consultation on these proposed changes and we submitted our comments. Much of what we had to say was: please action this as quickly as possible. I have been lobbying Health Canada since October to expedite this package.”

There’s an added wrinkle in the quest for amendments to these problems—the fact that the Canadian government is in a period of significant instability. This has put a timer on the clock to get it done before the election, as chances are it won’t get done after.

“In early January, on the heels of prorogation, I wrote to the Minister of Health and urged him to push these regulatory changes through before we end up in an election,” said McCarthy. “I don’t know if we will get it done but I can tell you that we are doing everything that we can to see them come into force before a writ.”

Despite the archaic nature of these restrictions, slow improvements have been made, such as the aforementioned frosted windows situation, which has cleared up in some provinces.

“In Alberta, you don’t have to have the frosted windows anymore [and] that was driven by people getting robbed,” said Maurer. “They go in, lock the door and no one can see what’s going on. It took months of that happening, if not longer, for at least some of the provincial governments to change it.”

To serve and protect

Another glaring burden that still exists is that cannabis products, infused beverages as an example, are still not permitted in the same areas where alcohol consumption is both available and encouraged.

“Why can’t we sell cannabis beverages at events, or restaurants, or at a hotel?” said Maurer. He went on to mention that the government could create a new class of licenses for these establishments, which would basically allow the venue to purchase products from the provincial body or even retailers.

It seems McCarthy agrees these venues should have those rights, and he added some cautious optimism as well. “I do foresee a time when that happens but I don’t have any insight as to when that may be. I would add, if/when we were to achieve that, I suspect it would be a bit of a marker that we are close to treating cannabis as it should be.” 

As restrictive as the Canadian regime currently is in these areas, it’s possible that the US is too far in the other direction.

“Certainly from a political point of view, they probably are,” said Maurer. “There’s stuff that looks appealing to kids.” He added that if you draw a line of distinction between what’s appealing to children and what really has nothing to do with that, you will end up with a balance. The litmus test is if children will find it enticing.

“Ask, does it make it more appealing or more accessible to children? If the answer is no, [it passes]. What else is going to happen if it’s not appealing to children? What’s the downside?”

Good things come in new packaging

It’s clear to many in the Canadian cannabis industry that it’s also time to loosen the restrictions around packaging. The current rules, as they stand, are a complete hindrance to any sort of brand loyalty or, at the very least, brand development. There’s no good way to differentiate products because it is prohibited to talk about effects and various other indicators.

“When you go into a store all you know is who makes it, the name they call it, the [potency] percentages, and if it’s an indica or sativa,” said Maurer. He went on to say that the customer can go with budtender recommendations, but those are sometimes biased based on the products they are required to move.

It seems clear that for the Canadian cannabis sector to evolve with healthy brand development, advertising and marketing restrictions need to be revised and availability increased. There are other industry examples to choose from, namely booze.

“Treat it like alcohol. You need to have a license to sell it, keep the prohibitions on certain types of packaging, but let adults purchase it outside of cannabis stores at venues where it makes sense.”