Nearly four years after cannabis legalized, mandatory review of the law is months overdue

The review should have started Oct. 17, 2021 — three years after legalization — but so far there’s been no indication from Health Canada when the process may begin

With the federal government almost one year late in launching a legally required review of the Cannabis Act, Canada’s legal weed industry says regulatory changes are desperately needed to stay ahead of the country’s still-thriving black market.

Enshrined within the Cannabis Act are rules requiring the health minister to engage in a full review three years after legalization, focusing on issues related to young people, Indigenous communities and allowing cultivation in private homes.

That review should have commenced Oct. 17, 2021 — three years after legalization in 2018 — but as of August 2022, there’s been no indication from Health Canada when the process may begin.

“Everybody anticipated — considering it was called a ‘three-year review’ — that it would launch at or around the third anniversary,” said George Smitherman, president and CEO of the producer advocacy group the Cannabis Council of Canada.

While he concedes delays were understandable considering last year’s snap election and given the subsequent appointment of Jean-Yves Duclos as Health Minister occurred within weeks of legalization’s third anniversary, that leeway has long run out. [Read More @ National Post]

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