Cannabis industry wants rules loosened on joint in-store promotions
CBC
As legal sales of cannabis show signs of flattening in Canada, the industry is urging provinces to loosen rules that ban pot producers and retailers from collaborating on promotions.
Nearly all provinces currently prohibit direct financial relationships between licensed producers and retailers, effectively barring retail outlets from offering special prices or holding joint in-store promotional events to highlight particular cannabis brands.
After five straight years of growth following legalization, official Canadian figures show legal sales of cannabis plateaued in 2023 and the industry's economic output shrunk. Big pot companies laid off workers, and smaller ones folded or entered bankruptcy protection.
Companies involved in the weed sector are looking for ways to woo more customers away from the illicit side of the market, and argue in-store promotions to build brand awareness would help.
"If you think about how the alcohol industry works, most people that walk into a liquor store typically know what they want to buy before they walk in, whereas in a cannabis retail store, that isn't the same," said Shakir Tayabali, CEO of the Independent Retail Cannabis Collective, which represents more than 750 members across Canada.
"Consumers aren't necessarily quite familiar with what brands are out there or what they like or what they want to try," Tayabali said in an interview. "You need to get people more aware of what the legal brands are, because that helps to combat the illicit market."
While the federal Cannabis Act sets down the overall laws about weed advertising, the provinces have the power to bring in additional rules about what is permitted in retail shops.
In all provinces but Saskatchewan, retailers and producers are barred from collaborating on promotions by rules that ban direct financial relationships, unless the retailer is owned by the licensed producer.
Ontario's regulations explicitly prohibit retailers from accepting any payments from producers for in-store and online advertising, promotions, preferential shelf space, specialized display materials, or any gifts or incentives that fall under the definition of an inducement.
Brad Poulos, a lecturer in the Ted Rogers School of Management at Toronto Metropolitan University, says the bulk of pot marketing in Canada currently has to happen at the store level because of the restrictions on producers' advertising.
"It's very, very difficult for a brand to build any kind of relationship directly with the consumer," Poulos said in an interview. "You just don't have this natural flow of information between a brand and the consumer, like you would with virtually any other consumer packaged good."
Industry insiders say the lack of brand awareness results in many consumers basing their purchasing decisions solely on price and the amount of THC, the chemical compound in cannabis that delivers the high.
"They're looking for the biggest bang for their buck," said Tayabali. "They want the highest THC at the lowest cost."
He says retailers need more leeway to promote other characteristics of various brands of pot.
Four more Alberta MLAs are facing recall petitions organized by their constituents, including the first NDP representative to be caught in the province's ongoing wave of recall efforts.
Frank Gehry, the Canadian-born renegade architect behind some of the world's most recognizable buildings, has died at 96.
Hundreds of P.E.I. parents can't find child-care spaces, especially for infants. The provincial government says expanding those spots remains a top priority — and it recognizes the concern.
An Alberta judge says a referendum proposal on Alberta separating from Canada goes against Charter and and Treaty rights, in a decision given less than 24 hours after the provincial government introduced legislation that would have ended the court proceeding.
The architect of Alberta's politician recall legislation says it was never meant to be used as a political weapon, but as an "ultimate tool of accountability" if a politician engages in illegal or unethical behaviour.
The Government of Saskatchewan has introduced its long-promised involuntary treatment legislation on the final day of the fall sitting.
The Law Society of Ontario has suspended the licence of Deepak Paradkar, one of seven Canadians arrested in connection with alleged drug lord Ryan Wedding’s cocaine smuggling ring.
London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) is getting rid of unlimited mental health benefits for staff, blaming ballooning costs and former administrators for implementing it without proper due diligence or oversight.
Netflix has agreed to buy Warner Bros. Discovery's TV and film studios and streaming division for $72 billion US, a deal that would hand control of one of Hollywood's most prized and oldest assets to the streaming pioneer that has upended the media industry.
CBC Calgary kicks off its annual Make the Season Kind campaign this morning at Fratello Coffee Roasters.
CBC Newfoundland and Labrador is kicking off its annual holiday campaign, helping to raise money to support local food banks.
If all goes according to plan, at 6 a.m. AT on Saturday people working at the IWK Health Centre will become the test case for a generational change to Nova Scotia’s health-care system.
One month after Prime Minister Mark Carney announced what he called "generational" military spending, New Brunswick’s defence ecosystem is on high alert.