Edible pot rules fine for some firms, too strict for others

TORONTO The federal government’s new proposed regulations on how cannabis edibles and extracts will be sold are garnering mixed reaction from the industry.

Some welcome the variety of product lines to be made legal in 2019, while others are concerned by the limits on THC potency and a ban on associating any kind of pot beverage with alcohol.

According to a statement by Health Canada on Thursday, edibles will be permitted for sale in Canada no later than Oct. 17, 2019, exactly a year after cannabis in flower form was legalized for recreational use.

The proposed rules, broadly speaking, set a cap on the amount of THC in a cannabis beverage or edibles to 10 milligrams, and allow for only “plain packaging” of cannabis products.

Bruce Linton, CEO of Canopy Growth Corp., supported the proposed measures, which he called “broad in scope.”

“I’m happy with the THC limits,” Linton said. “They make me feel much more relieved about the bottling facility we opened across the street from our Smiths Falls (Ont.) plant.”

Canopy, in partnership with alcohol giant Constellation Brands, plans to sell Tweed-branded pot drinks once it becomes legal. The firm is also developing cannabis-infused chocolates with confectionary-maker Hummingbird.

In addition to beverages, the proposed regulations allow cannabis edibles, extracts (such as concentrated oil, that can be used in a vape pen) and topicals (creams, gels, lotions) to be sold.

Edibles and beverages cannot contain “elements that would associate the product with alcoholic beverages, or brands of alcohol,” setting up a dilemma for firms that plan to develop non-alcoholic, pot-infused beer or wine.

“There’s a significant impact to us in terms of what we can call the products we are making,” said Terry Donnelly, CEO of Hill Street Beverage Co., which specializes in non-alcoholic beer and wine.

Last summer, Hill Street announced it would be entering the cannabis space to make pot-infused drinks, and subsequently applied for a Health Canada licence to make and sell cannabis products.

“Now they are saying you can’t call it wine or beer. But I don’t think Health Canada understands that people actually do like wine and beer, and the non-alcoholic option is the safer one for Canadians,” Donnelly said.