The Liberals Gave Us Cannabis. Could the Conservatives Give Us Cannabis Reform?

Blair Gibbs at The Hub argues that cannabis reform could be an election platform for the Conservatives, should they choose to take it. The Liberals won their first election with help from their own platform to legalize cannabis, which Gibbs calls “arguably the most consequential domestic policy reform of the Trudeau government”. And, as he points out, not only did the Conservatives lose that battle, public support for legalized cannabis has grown in the years since.

But so has dissatisfaction over the cannabis industry including regulations most specifically. “This leaves the Conservatives with an opportunity to improve on the framework of the Trudeau government without feeling like their own voters want them to roll legalization back,” Gibbs writes.

Although, he says, the framework works for consumers and society in general in terms of providing safe, legal cannabis, all is not rosy for consumers. There is the question of cannabis cafés, not to mention confusion over what brand they may like due to all the branding restrictions.

“Conservatives should be on the side of small producers and in favour of regulations that enable what younger, responsible consumers want, like places to consume together socially, support for craft growers close to home, more sustainable production, and better access and product options.”

If the Conservatives do pick up cannabis reform as a platform — and assuming that platform is a freer and more open industry — they will have to reconcile it with their hard-line stances on other drugs, too.

However, on the flip side, there isn’t an election on the horizon quite yet. The liberals could pursue cannabis reform themselves before that time. Gibbs points out that there is an ongoing legislative review of the Cannabis Act, but much of the regulations put in place are by Health Canada with heavy input by the Ministry of Public Safety and other ministries and agencies In other words, cannabis reform would be a slow process winding through various government entities.

Of course, that would be true no matter who’s in government. But if the Liberals want to move on cannabis reform before the next election, they’ll have to move quickly.

Cannabis reform likely won’t be as big an election issue as cannabis legalization was in 2015. But with enough voices calling their MPs, it could be close.

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