Who should set the rules on marijuana use?
Provincial oversight makes sense, says Allan W. Gregory.
Marijuana for recreational use will soon become legal under the federal Liberal government’s Bill C-45, but the discussion of how to best regulate what many suspect will be an enormous industry is still ongoing.
The model put forward by Bill C-45 was suggested by the federal Task Force on Cannabis Legalization and Regulation and is based on the Tobacco Act. Under it, the federal government oversees the wholesale side (licensing and security for all production in Canada) and the provincial governments and territories are responsible for the retail level (public education, youth protection and distribution).
While the Tobacco Act provides lawmakers with an obvious template for recreational use, a look at the current medical marijuana industry reveals that a model based on alcohol regulation — with minimal federal involvement — is a far more convincing option.
The current federal licensing model for medical marijuana does little to enhance the view that the feds know best. For example, there are no clear guidelines or stated policy objectives as to who gets a licence other than meeting the necessary criteria. The hodgepodge of licences across Canada (52 of them at the time of writing) do not reflect a co-ordinated supply management system designed to meet population demands. For example, Quebec has been granted only one licence compared to Ontario’s 29. How further licensing would unfold in a recreational setting where demand would increase is anyone’s guess. Bottlenecks and interprovincial trade issues would likely abound.
Provinces and territories will want their own approach to licensing and their own criteria as to the number, size and location of each producer. While there may eventually be interprovincial trade as set out in the recently signed Canadian Free Trade Agreement, the details have yet to be worked out and there is a two-year time frame for its completion. Also, there is an opt-out clause for each province that disagrees with the national compromise.
In the federal oversight environment, information duplication would be sizable. Licensed producers would report the same information (production, sales, inventory, etc.) to both the federal and provincial governments. This additional cost would be borne by the consumers and producers and serve no real purpose. Again, there seems little point to have the feds involved.
Marijuana may share a number of features with tobacco but this connection is being pushed too far. The push to legalize marijuana comes from a variety of forces, not the least of which is personal safe adult enjoyment much more akin to alcohol use. In that setting, provincial government responsibility would outweigh most federal input, including most of the tax-sharing.
Medical marijuana under federal regulation has had mixed reviews. Health is clearly a provincial matter and the provincial governments will want to exercise more control than that demonstrated by Health Canada in the medical market.
At present, Health Canada makes no attempt to verify whether physicians prescribing medical marijuana have valid provincial or territorial medical licences. The patient pays for the forms sent to the licensed producers, but we suspect many patients seek their family physician’s opinion prior to using medical marijuana. There are a number of family health networks at play (rostering of patients) and provincial governments may wish to ensure that patients are not seeking medical marijuana from doctors who are not part of the patient’s regular family doctor network. Provinces will want a tighter relationship between the family physician and their prescribing of medical marijuana than presently offered under Health Canada, particularly once recreational use is legal.
Most of the challenges of marijuana legalization will fall on provincial/territorial purses. Other than legalizing marijuana broadly, how the industry is regulated is best left to each province and territory. Just as with alcohol and gambling laws, provinces will differ in how they prefer to license, tax and educate their citizens on the use of these products.
Medical marijuana under federal regulation has had mixed reviews.