A highly-anticipated report has given Canada the green light to sell recreational marijuana through a wide range of retail outlets in a boost to the nascent cannabis growing industry as the country moves toward legalizing the drug.
The Task Force on Cannabis Legalization and Regulation issued a report that recommends the Canadian government regulate the production of marijuana while the provinces control distribution and retail sales, including through dedicated storefronts with well-trained staff and access with a direct to consumer mail-order system. The market should “encourage a diverse, competitive market that also includes small producers” and set tax rates that balance public health damages from drug use with the need to reduce criminal production of weed.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government commissioned the report as it prepares to legalize and regulate recreational use of the drug, which would be a first among Group of Seven nations, with legislation promised by early next year. The plan has fueled a surge in Canada’s marijuana stocks in anticipation of billions of dollars of legitimate revenue. [Read more at Bloomberg]