Pot packaging rules unveiled

Warning signs aim to deter smoking by youth

OTTAWA— Legal pot will be sold in plain packages emblazoned with a yellow health warning and a red stop sign stamped with the silhouette of a marijuana leaf, according to draft regulations released Monday by Health Canada.

The proposed rules will allow for packaging to depict a single brand element beyond a company’s name — either a logo or a slogan — but which may not contain any metallic or fluorescent colours and must be smaller than the stop sign symbol.

The stringent restrictions around marijuana packaging and labelling are contained in a report from Health Canada summarizing the results of a 60-day public feedback process the department began in November, after its original regulatory suggestions.

The government’s focus remains reducing the appeal of pot among youth, preventing accidental consumption and informing consumers about the health risks of marijuana, Health Minister Ginette Petitpas Taylor said.

“The red stop sign — it’s an alarmist type of sign and people are going to recognize that they have to be aware that there is cannabis inside this product,” Petitpas Taylor said Monday.

The regulations will also require packaging to be opaque, child-resistant and have mechanisms to show signs of tampering, as well as a section describing the amount of active ingredients contained in the product, including THC and cannabidiol.