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 The proposals, which will be open for public consultation for 60
days, include restrictions on packaging to ensure the products are
not enticing to children as well as legal standards for quality
control and potency, Health Minister Ginette Petitpas Taylor told
reporters.
The government is on track to legalize recreational marijuana by
July 2018, making it the first Group of Seven country to do so.
Petitpas Taylor said the government wants to set strict guidelines
for the safety of cannabis products, but ensure micro-producers and
big companies alike will have access to the market as long as they
are licensed.
"We want to make sure the market will be open to everyone. Some
people will be small businesses and they can certainly apply for a
license in order to have a micro-industry, if you will," she told
reporters, adding there is no limit to the number of licenses that
will be available.
The proposed regulations address the licensing, tracking, packaging
and labeling of recreational and medical marijuana practices, and
include a permitting regime for the cultivation, processing, sale,
testing and import and export of cannabis.
The federal government earlier this month proposed splitting with
the provinces income from excise taxes on recreational marijuana,
drawing criticism from Ontario, which is concerned it will face
higher costs associated with the new law.
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The federal government said it wants an excise tax on all cannabis
products, including medical marijuana, of C$1 per gram (0.04 ounce),
or 10 percent of the retail price, whichever is higher.
Some provinces have asked the government to delay legalization,
saying they need more time to set up a sales system and train police
officers who will be enforcing the new rules.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made the issue part of his 2015
successful election campaign and the Liberal government says
regulating marijuana will keep it out of the hands of underage users
and reduce drug-related crime.
Shares of licensed producers, such as Canopy Growth, have soared in
anticipation of legalization but the stocks are expected to face a
bumpy ride in 2018.
(Reporting by Andrea Hopkins; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)
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