Minimum price, extra tax likely for recreational pot
Province sets legal age at 19 as it rolls out its cannabis legislation
An additional sales — or sin — tax could be added to the retail price of marijuana in Saskatchewan, similar to how cigarettes and alcohol are priced.
On Wednesday, the province released legislation on cannabis.
Already at the federal level, there will be an excise tax (or simply put, an indirect tax) placed on recreational cannabis products available for legal purchase. It is a cost that will be placed on federally licensed producers: they will be taxed at a rate of either $1 a gram or 10 per cent of the product’s price, depending on which one is higher.
Twenty-five per cent of the money generated will go to the federal government, with the remaining 75 per cent going to the province. And if Ottawa’s quarter share surpasses $100 million, any amount above that will also go to the province.
Whether or not the province adds its own tax — such as a cannabis sales tax — will not be known until the April 10 budget, but it is likely, given the province already places additional taxes on cigarettes and alcohol.
The province says it is unable to share such details until budget day, but SLGA Minister Gene Makowsky signalled licensed retailers in the province will have to sell their products at a to-be determined minimum price, and “potentially any other taxes put on by the province of Saskatchewan.”
“I guess you’ll want to find that spot where you want to get rid of the black market, but don’t want to make it so cheap as to incentivize or make it that much more available, particularly to young people,” he said.
Keeping cannabis away from young people is a priority of the province, and it is setting the legal age to purchase marijuana at 19.
Attorney general Don Morgan said choosing 19 as the legal age “kept us in line with possession and consumption of alcohol” legislation in the province and that “seemed to be the direction that most provinces were going.”
He noted it would likely be easier for the black market to take hold if the age of consumption and possession was any higher than 19 years.
Those who are not of age and in possession of more than five grams of cannabis will be committing a criminal offence and subject to charges under the Youth Criminal Justice Act.
Any amount lower than that would be dealt with through fines, similar to how underage drinking is enforced now.
Saskatchewan’s efforts were applauded by Regina Police Chief Evan Bray, who said the provincial framework — particularly the age limit — does a “really good job of distancing (cannabis) from schools.”
He noted that if the age limit was 18, as seen in other provinces, it would “really start to blur those lines” as some high school students would be legally allowed to purchase marijuana.
Bray recognized the “black market is going to be a tough one” and “price setting is going to be an important part of what role the black market is going to play.”
But he said beyond pricing, there will be other considerations undertaken by consumers wanting to purchase cannabis, because licensed retailers will have some quality control.
“Buying in a back alley, or buying illegally, offers no quality over the product that you are getting,” he said, adding that can have significant consequences.
Buying in a back alley, or buying illegally, offers no quality over the product that you are getting.
Saskatchewan is staying in line with the federal government when it comes to the number of cannabis plants permitted to be grown in a home.
But the province is still continuing to look at other rules about where and how cannabis can specifically be grown.
For those who drive under the influence of cannabis, there will be strict punishments, including licence suspensions, roadside vehicle seizures and financial penalties, under Saskatchewan Government Insurance’s (SGI) Safe Driver Recognition Program.
Consuming cannabis in public will not be allowed in Saskatchewan, and changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will give landlords the right to impose their own rules on possessing, using or growing cannabis in their units.