Breaking Down the Proposed Edibles Regulations in Canada
Disclaimer: This post provides general information only. It is not meant to be used as legal advice for specific legal problems. If you need legal help, contact a legal aid office or a lawyer. The information on this website applies only to Canada. Information about the law on this site is checked for legal accuracy at the time it is posted, but may become outdated as laws or policies change.
After months of uncertainty, the federal government has unveiled official proposals to legalize cannabis edibles.
The much-awaited scheme was released on December 22, 2018, following extensive research and community consultation - and while it is reasonably in line with what many industry insiders had anticipated, there are still a number of wrinkles to iron out.
The new rules don’t just apply to standard pot brownies and other sweet treats. They will apply to all cannabis infused products. This includes solid edibles as well as beverage items, cannabis topicals and inhalable extracts and concentrates.
And the rules are extensive. Aside from simply setting THC limits per product, they will also establish how products should be packaged and labeled, and what types of additives may be used.
Regulations on what will be possible will be strict.
For example, infused products cannot contain added vitamins, minerals, nicotine, or alcohol. Solid and beverage cannabis products will have a limit on allowable caffeine; but extracts and concentrates cannot have any whatsoever and they cannot contain added sugars, colours or sweeteners, either.
This means that anyone dreaming of a THC infused wine or vitamin smart-water in their near future, will need to keep on doing so.
Moreover, almost all products will need to be sold in plain, child-resistant packaging and must not be appealing to minors. This means no cartoon characters, bright colors or cool graphics.
While this seems limiting on paper, the practical reality is likely to be far more daunting.
The regulations around packaging, products and child-safety are extremely broad.
Under the Cannabis Act, products that have an appearance, shape or other sensory attribute that could reasonably appeal to a young person are banned. However, defining what this means in a consumer market that largely fetishes youth will create a tight-rope for many cannabis producers.
Moreover, sweets, like brownies, cookies and candies have become the preferred vessels for cannabis-infused edibles for a reason – they are tasty and appealing to people of all-ages.
Unfortunately, this also includes people for whom they are not intended, like minors.
So, while the cannabis industry may be able to steer clear of making infused spider gummies or sour keys, creating a simple chocolate bar that is not appealing to children may amount to a near impossible task.
But that’s not all – under the new rules, cannabis infused products cannot make health or dietary claims and topicals cannot boost cosmetic benefits.
The Proposed Regulations for Cannabis Edibles via Health Canada
In a beauty and health obsessed culture, these restrictions may severely hamper the sale of many cannabis infused products.
Instead, all packaging must clearly display the standardized cannabis symbol for any product containing THC, along with health warning messages. They must also show ingredient lists, allergens and directions for intended use.
While this may seem benign, many consumers and advocates are pointing out the inherent hypocrisy in forcing health warning messages to be displayed on products which pose very little in the way of negative health effects, while suppressing any information related to their benefits.
It is this type of informational mismanagement that will perpetuate stereotypes around cannabis and cannabis-users. It also simultaneously does a disservice to the general public by preventing people from properly accessing well-balanced and fair information about cannabis products.
This paternalistic approach to cannabis is similarly adopted in THC content limits.
A limit of 10 mg of THC per package of edibles has been suggested in the rules.
This is distinctly different from other jurisdictions, like Colorado and Washington state, which also set a limit of 10 mg of THC – but do so per serving size. This means that a package can contain more than 10 mg, but doses need to be divvied up in smaller serving sizes. This rather sensible approach allows consumers to dose appropriately, while also easily managing their THC intake.
The government’s suggested approach to THC limits will create excessive waste in terms of packaging, time and resources. It will also cause frustration amongst seasoned cannabis users, and medical users, who require a larger dose in order to achieve their desired affects.
All in all, the rules around cannabis edibles amount to a decent starting point, and not much else.
There is much work left to be done.
And with more consumers than ever reaching for edibles, and the market for such products expected to reach $5.3 billion by 2020, the government would be well advised to get their rules right sooner, rather than later.