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Ontario passes Cannabis Act, will take effect July 1, 2018"
https://www.thestar.com/news/queens...annabis-act-will-take-effect-july-1-2018.html
Glad all the "political red tape done with...less confusion for end users
!!!!
The red tape is not quite over yet. June 7th is the 3rd reading for bill C-45 in the senate. It should pass but the conservatives are saying they want better roadside THC tests, that it should be available at 25 years old not 18/19 and that citizens shouldn't be able to grow 4 plants. Now they have also stirred the pot getting native bands to give the Liberals a hard time wanting a portion of the tax dollars and for marijuana laws to not apply on native lands. The Conservative party was decimated last election after having a majority the previous 8 years so they are doing everything they can to be difficult with the remaining rag tag group they have in the house of commons.
The other hurdle is the UN as Canada signed the drug treaty which included cannabis but the treaty was to be in the public's best interest and now legalization is seen to be in the public's best interest. Uruguay told the UN to pound sand when they complained about their recreational legalization. Uruguay signed the drug act as well.
If everything passes June 7th then we'll have a set date. This is good and bad as there will be very strict branding and marketing guidelines once it legalizes, this is from pressure from alcohol lobby groups as they don't want the competition as they know alcohol sales have plummeted in Colorado since legalization. White labeling and very strict marketing regulations will be in effect as of legalization. Currently companies are doing their darnedest to market their brands before the marketing grey area ends.
Government agencies will be the main online distributors of recreational cannabis and licensed producers will stream line online sales through pharmacies and their own online shops. Edibles will take longer to be legalized.
What will be interesting to watch is how the provinces who are managing dispensaries as publicly run stores do. I think it will be a gong show. Alberta, Manitoba and Newfoundland are the only purely private retail provinces with the provincial governments controlling distribution. BC has both publicly owned stores and private.
The main take from all this is there will be less demand for dispensary domains in Canada than the US and way less "privately owned " online stores and delivery services.
Worst case scenario is the bill doesn't pass June 7th and gets delayed another year.
Fun stuff!