A dangerous approach to marketing marijuana
It has been six months since Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced when Canada would legalize recreational marijuana. Since then, barely a day has passed without some form of media commentary on the subject.
You may think the exhaustive analysis to date has covered all elements of what is to come, but you would be mistaken. Discussions have centred around licensing and usage legislation, but two months on from legalization, it is becoming clear just how significant an impact this industry will have on Canadian society with the subject still dominating national discourse.
The scale of the unknown and the potential implications of incomplete planning are still vast, and with little in-depth analysis given to date on marketing or economic regulation, something we should have considered long before now, there is capacity for volatile and potentially unethical marketing to creep in to the industry.
In 2017, a task force was appointed to analyze and offer recommendations to the federal government on how to legislate for the legalization of marijuana. As part of this task force, esteemed experts with decades of experience in public health, police, legal, policy and addiction shared thoughtful consider- ations and recommendations on building legislation. But the task force saw the notable absence of experts from marketing, business or the economics fields.
Despite marketing being prevalent throughout our daily lives, the general public is generally unaware of the influence it can have on the economy and society. Many people still believe marketing to equate to billboards and TV ads, when, in fact, this is just the tip of the iceberg.
Within marketing, we often refer to the four Ps: product, price, place, and promotion. These pillars cover an endless number of subjects worth considering — subjects which, to date, have not been sufficiently explored in relation to marijuana legalization. Why should we care, you might ask? Let’s take promotion as just one example to illustrate the breadth of marketing and its influence.
Laws have been put in place around the advertising of cannabis products, but advertising is just one component within promotion. Only now, as we pass the watershed moment, are governments beginning to look at the other elements — public relations, on-street activity, celebrity endorsements, not to mention sponsorships, which are a huge influencer of consumer behaviour.
It is, of course, a positive that regulation is being created to serve these requirements, but this reactive approach, responding to challenges as they appear, makes the task much more difficult than if consideration was included in task force planning, long before legalization was upon us.
We should be taking lessons from other industries, staying ahead of the curve. Looking at tobacco and e-ciga- rettes, we see the effect that marketing insights can have on legislation when recommendations come as an afterthought, long after products are in-market. Without proper planning and expert insight, we leave ourselves open to challenges and epidemics that may otherwise be avoidable.
Marijuana is set to add $8 billion to the Canadian economy, and yet, economics experts were also not included on the planning task force. Without a specialist to pose questions or offer insight into the less obvious areas of economics, legislation has left many areas exposed.
By including an economic voice, we would have a better idea of what level of competition is best for the economy and whose role it is to manage market growth. Without these insights, we now face an uncertain, unstable road ahead.
On the week of our new minister for marijuana being appointed to enforce legislation, it is clear that a framework is needed to ensure production and consumption is marketed in a responsible way. The reality that lies ahead for us as we embrace this new industry is unknown, and without clear line of sight of how it will develop, the best we can do is employ the knowledge and insights of experts best placed to advise.
We must continue to look ahead, embracing the opportunities and preparing for the challenges the industry will bring, while ensuring we consider all possible outcomes as we build a framework for success in the future.