Pubdate: Fri, 02 Dec 2016
Source: National Post (Canada)
Copyright: 2016 Canwest Publishing Inc.
Contact: http://drugsense.org/url/wEtbT4yU
Website: http://www.nationalpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/286
Author: John Ivison
Page: A1

PANEL SUGGESTS NEW POT POLICIES

Urges Liberals to target marijuana black market

The key recommendation of the panel charged with outlining the
framework for Canada's legal marijuana regime is that the system
should be geared toward getting rid of the $7-billion-a year black
market.

Sources familiar with the report, which is expected to be made public
Dec. 21, say all the other recommendations flow from that guiding principle.

Provinces will set the legal age for marijuana consumption, but the
report is likely to recommend the limit be the age of majority - 18 in
six provinces; 19 in B.C., Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, New
Brunswick and the three territories - which would keep many young
people from turning to criminal sources. (The Canadian Medical
Association has recommended an age limit of 21, with limits on the
quantity and potency.)

To eat into the black market, the report is expected to recommend
prices should be lower than the street price of $8-$10 a gram. This
would reduce the amount of tax revenues available to federal and
provincial governments but would be justified by the principle of
guaranteeing a safe and controlled supply.

To ensure consumers receive a Health Canada-approved product, the
report is expected to recommend the existing mail-order distribution
network be maintained.

Legislation is expected in April 2017, giving the provinces little
time to set up their own distribution systems. There have been
suggestions by some producers that legal marijuana could be sold as
early as January 2018.

At the moment, medical marijuana is sold by mail order with a
prescription, which allows producers to track the product from seed to
customer.

Under an expanded legal system, suppliers could collect payment online
and ship to an address provided by the buyer. Canada Post already
makes wine deliveries where age has to be verified by the recipient.
The legal marijuana industry argues that a similar age and identity
verification system would work for pot.

Allowing Canada Post a monopoly in mail distribution would also boost
business for a Crown corporation that saw mail volumes fall by 14 per
cent in the most recent quarter.

On production, it is expected the report will recommend that the 36
existing licensed producers continue to produce Health Canada-approved
pot, while new producers will be encouraged to apply for production
permits.

Bill Blair, the Liberal MP managing the pot file, has made clear that
production and distribution will be a matter for discussion with the
provinces. That is likely to mean changes over time. On distribution,
provincial governments like Ontario have talked about selling
marijuana through its 600 provincially owned liquor stores.

That move would not be without controversy. Experts have warned about
the dangers of promoting pot in the same way that liquor control
boards market booze, and about selling the two products on the same
shelves.

In provinces like B.C., which already has a large number of pot shops,
the expectation is that the provincial government will require
dispensaries to buy marijuana from a licensed producer.

The final report is already in circulation but public release has been
delayed by the need to translate it into French. Justice Minister Jody
Wilson-Raybould said in the House of Commons Thursday she expects to
receive it in "mid-December."

During question period Thursday, Wilson-Raybould was pressed by the
Conservatives about a spike in the trading of pot company stocks that
they allege may have been caused by a leak of the report. On Nov. 16,
the TSX halted trading on six medical marijuana companies. Alex
Nuttall, an Ontario Conservative MP, asked the minister if she was
investigating a possible leak.

Wilson-Raybould said she has not yet seen the final report and that
any leak would be investigated by the Ontario Securities Commission.

The Liberals promised to legalize pot in their election platform as a
public safety issue, to keep marijuana out of the hands of children
and to cut off profits to organized crime.

There was an expectation it would generate tax revenues for strapped
governments, but a report by the Parliamentary Budget Officer last
month suggested tax revenues would be just $618 million at the outset,
with around 60 per cent going to the provinces. That number is
forecast to grow as the legal cannabis market matures and production
costs decline.

"A potential customer shift to a more value-added cannabis product
could create a larger tax base," the report concluded.

Producers have pushed to be allowed to brand and advertise products,
taking the position that strong brands matter in a new market.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Matt