Pubdate: Wed, 09 Aug 2017
Source: Ottawa Citizen (CN ON)
Copyright: 2017 Postmedia Network Inc.
Contact:  http://www.ottawacitizen.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/326
Author: Allan W. Gregory
Page: A9

RECREATIONAL POT: WHO SHOULD MAKE THE RULES?

Put the provinces in charge, argues Allan W. Gregory.

Most of the challenges of marijuana legalization will fall on
provincial/territorial purses.

Marijuana for recreational use will soon become legal under the
federal Liberal government's Bill C-45, but the discussion of how to
best regulate what many suspect will be an enormous industry is still
ongoing.

The model put forward by Bill C-45 was suggested by the federal Task
Force on Cannabis Legalization and Regulation and is based on the
Tobacco Act. Under it, the federal government oversees the wholesale
side (licensing and security for all production in Canada) and the
provincial governments and territories are responsible for the retail
level (public education, youth protection and distribution).

While the Tobacco Act provides lawmakers with an obvious template for
recreational use, a look at the current medical marijuana industry
reveals that a model based on alcohol regulation is a far more
convincing option.

The current federal licensing model for medical marijuana does little
to enhance the view that the feds know best. For example, there are no
clear guidelines or stated policy objectives as to who gets a licence
other than meeting the necessary criteria. The hodgepodge of licences
across Canada (52 of them at the time of writing) do not reflect a
co-ordinated supply management system designed to meet population
demands. For example, Quebec has been granted only one licence
compared to Ontario's 29. How further licensing would unfold in a
recreational setting where demand would increase is anyone's guess.
Bottlenecks and interprovincial trade issues would likely abound.

Provinces and territories will want their own approach to licensing
and their own criteria as to the number, size and location of each
producer. While there may eventually be interprovincial trade, as set
out in the recently signed Canadian Free Trade Agreement, the details
have yet to be worked out and there is a two-year time frame for its
completion. Also, there is an opt-out clause for each province that
disagrees with the national compromise.

In the federal oversight environment, information duplication would be
sizable. Licensed producers would report the same information
(production, sales, inventory, etc.) to both the federal and
provincial governments. This additional cost would be borne by the
consumers and producers and serve no real purpose. Again, there seems
little point to have the feds involved.

Marijuana may share a number of features with tobacco but this
connection is being pushed too far. The push to legalize marijuana
comes from a variety of forces, not the least of which is personal
safe adult enjoyment much more akin to alcohol use. In that setting,
provincial government responsibility would outweigh most federal
input, including most of the tax-sharing.

Medical marijuana under federal regulation has had mixed reviews.
Health is a provincial matter and the provincial governments will want
to exercise more control than that demonstrated by Health Canada in
the medical market.

At present, Health Canada makes no attempt to verify whether
physicians prescribing medical marijuana have valid provincial or
territorial medical licences. The patient pays for the forms sent to
the licensed producers, but we suspect many patients seek their family
physician's opinion prior to using medical marijuana. There are a
number of family health networks at play (rostering of patients) and
provincial governments may wish to ensure that patients are not
seeking medical marijuana from doctors who are not part of the
patient's regular family doctor network. Provinces will want a tighter
relationship between the family physician and their prescribing of
medical marijuana than presently offered under Health Canada,
particularly once recreational use is legal.

Most of the challenges of marijuana legalization will fall on
provincial/territorial purses. Other than legalizing marijuana
broadly, how the industry is regulated is best left to each province
and territory. Just as with alcohol and gambling laws, provinces will
differ in how they prefer to license, tax and educate their citizens
on the use of these products.

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Allan W. Gregory, a professor of economics at Queen's University, 
researches the medical marijuana industry.
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MAP posted-by: Matt