Maximum Yield Cannabis USA December 2017 / January 2018 | Page 75

1. Withdrawal from International Treaties
Since 1961, Canada has signed three UN drug treaties
pledging to ban marijuana. Leaving these treaties requires
a notice period. However, in order to keep the promise of
legalizing marijuana by July 1, 2018, Canada would have
needed to give the UN notice by Canada Day (July 1), which
has now passed. There are still ways to legalize marijuana
without violating the treaties, including a delay of the
legalization date, constitutional amendment (not likely), or
on the grounds of performing scientific research. This final
option would require some legal creativity to achieve. How
Canada plans to accomplish this still remains to be seen.
“ Like many legal, adult-use recreational
marijuana laws here in the States,
Canada would prohibit driving
while impaired and implement
strict laws regarding taking
marijuana over its borders.”
2. Efforts to Change the Advertising Rules
In accordance with federal task force recommendations,
adult-use recreational marijuana businesses would only
be allowed to distribute basic details, much like rules for
the tobacco industry, such as price, strain, and company
name. Now, Canadian marijuana businesses have joined
forces with Advertising Standards Canada to draft guide-
lines and lobby the government to be able to advertise
and brand their products. Their goal is to be able to better
differentiate their products from each other and those sold
on the black market.
3. Canada’s Premiers Want More Time
Because Canada has empowered each province and terri-
tory to decide its own regulations for taxation, as well as
determine who is allowed to sell, consume, and purchase
adult-use recreational marijuana, Canadian premiers have
indicated that they need more time to develop these rules.
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They’ve met with push back from Prime Minister Trudeau,
who has insisted that the country will meet the July 1, 2018
date. The government has stated that it has a backup plan
for those provinces that fail to establish regulations, though
details are not yet known.
Here at Medicine Man Technologies, we are hopeful that
the bill will be passed and everything will be in place as
Canada looks to legalize adult-use recreational marijuana
by July 2018. If you are planning to enter Canada’s adult-use
recreational marijuana market next year, please reach out to
our team for assistance.
grow. heal. learn. enjoy.
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