Canada’s marijuana industry needs innovation to thrive, not protection

Marijuana regulators face a trade-off between protecting inefficient producers and raising revenue
The Globe and Mail (Canada)
Wednesday, January 11, 2017

canada pot flag4The Task Force on Marijuana Legalization and Regulation did not say, “create a marijuana marketing board.” Yet its recommendations would, if implemented, effectively impose a supply management system on cannabis. Suppliers would be licensed, and subject to production limits. These controls would be set so as to “align supply with likely demand.” A marijuana marketing board would protect existing producers, and keep prices high. For the Task Force, this was precisely the point. They wanted to encourage “market diversity,” create “a space for smaller-scale production” and prevent “the development of monopolies or large conglomerates.”