Edibles, beverages, extracts and topicals – oh my! Health Canada has finally released regulations guiding the production and sale of the next wave of cannabis products entering the legal market.
Full details will be published in the Canadian Gazette June 26.
What we know so far:
• THC content in edibles products will be limited to 10 milligrams per package
• THC in concentrates and topicals will be limited to 1,000 milligrams
• Almost all of the products you know and love from the grey market will be available, from brownies and gummies to shatter and rosin
• Under the new regs, edible cannabis products cannot be produced in the same site as other food products nor can they be appealing to children.
The marketing of these cannabis products will continue to follow tobacco standards, although the warning labels will be focused more on harm reduction. Health Canada wants cannabis consumers to “start low and go slow” with so many cannabis products coming onto the market.
While cannabis consumers may hem and haw about the restrictive THC limit for edibles, restaurant owners across Canada are salivating at the prospect of finally being legally able to serve cannabis products regulated by Health Canada, only the federal government does not have the power to license on-premises sales. That power rests with the provinces. In Ontario, that would mean both the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of the Attorney General handing down that responsibility to the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario to create a licensing regime.
The province has been fairly quiet on the issue of on-premises sales to date.
Despite the silence, DineSafe, the city’s food safety program, and Toronto Municipal Licensing & Standards have been exploring the possibility of allowing the sale of non-smokable cannabis products in cafés, restaurants and lounges.
While the vaping and smoking of cannabis products on premises in Ontario is prohibited by the Smoke-Free Ontario Act, the only thing stopping restaurants from serving cannabis products is provincial licensing.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford has told industry types privately that he would like Ontario to have the most permissive edibles regulations in Canada.
But cannabis smoking lounges seem like a pipe dream, with current regs prohibiting the sale of booze and cannabis in the same location. It’s up to the province of Ontario to move forward to allow the sale. Nova Scotia has done it.
But complicating matters is the fact that the Legislature is on summer recess and won’t be back to the daily business of governing until late October, which is after the new regs are scheduled to come into effect October 17.
Without on-premises sales, this leaves a huge grey area for cannabis events, live concerts and edibles dinners.
Many questions remain as to how on-premise sales will roll out across Canada.
Lisa Campbell is CEO of Lifford Cannabis Solutions and co-chair of the Cannabis Beverage Producers Alliance.
@nowtoronto
