N.S. slammed for ‘glamorizing’ weed

Professor says signage painting pot as appealing violates Cannabis Act

Nova Scotia’s cannabis retailer is being accused of violating federal regulations by “glamorizing and normalizing” marijuana, but the Crown corporation says it is simply educating consumers.

The Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation recently unveiled the design of its cannabis stores, which divides products into four distinct categories: relax, unwind, centre and enhance. There will also be tablets at tabletops allowing customers to browse products and “discover your experience” once the stores open in October.

Dr. Simon Sherry, a psychologist and professor at Dalhousie University, issued a news release Tuesday saying the signage promotes cannabis in a way that’s attractive and appealing, contrary to the Canna- bis Act’s section on promotion.

“There’s a danger in all this. What our government and the NSLC are doing is that they are glamorizing and normalizing cannabis use,” said Sherry, who has written a letter to Health Canada Minister Ginette Petitpas Taylor outlining his concerns.

“They’re making it appealing and they’re making it attractive, and when cannabis gets glamorized and normalized, more and more people start to use it, so more and more Nova Sco- tians are going to be encountering the risks and the harms associated with cannabis use.”

Sherry points to NSLC signage that promote various cannabis strains as “soothing,” “relaxing and calming” or offering “livelier experiences” that “invigorate the senses.”

The Cannabis Act prohibits promotion in a manner that “evokes a positive or negative emotion about or image of, a way of life such as one that includes glamour, recreation, excitement, vitality, risk or daring.”

David DiPersio, senior vicepresident and chief services officer for the NSLC, said the product classifications were developed to educate consumers about how different strains of cannabis affect the mind and body.

“What we are doing here, in a very subtle way, is educating our consumers to the fact that this particular strain would create a different type of experience than another strain,” DiPersio said.