Canadian Courts Could Strike Down Cannabis Monopolies
Jodie Giesz-Ramsay, known to many as Jodie Emery, co-owner of Cannabis Culture magazine and its associated businesses based in Vancouver, BC, is mounting an effort to challenge some of the provisions in Canada’s new adult-legalization law, known as The Cannabis Act, which is scheduled to go into effect in July 2018. Specifically, Giesz-Ramsay alleges that tight restrictions on production and distribution in the new law will result in a monopoly over the nascent industry which essentially serves to choke off dispensaries, licensed producers and mail-order distributors already serving patient and consumer needs in Canada. The Cannabis Act will currently allow Canadian territories and provinces to create their own regulatory structure to oversee production, distribution and sales.
The group is seeking to intervene in an upcoming case being heard by the Supreme Court of Canada, in order to bring these grievances to the legal system. In its intervention, Cannabis Culture is representing 28 other corporations. The case involves a man who was arrested and charged for transporting too large a quantity of alcohol from one Canadian province to another, and is being watched closely by small and large producers of beer and wine, multiple business and consumer organizations, among others.
The two provinces embroiled in the case include Ontario, which has stated an intention to make the Liquor Control Board of Ontario the sole provider for adult-use cannabis, and New Brunswick, which announced a new Crown corporation (quasi governmental agency) partnering with private companies Organigram and Canopy Growth for the same purpose.
The Court has yet to decide if it will accept the application for intervention, but there appears to be a willingness to discuss the issue.
From the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation:
“The court has expressed a willingness to revisit issues ‘should a sea change in the legal, political, or social landscape occur,’ Cannabis Culture points out.
“‘The legalization of cannabis and the emergence of an entirely new industry are precisely the type of sea change which needs to be heard in this case because of the effects interprovincial trade barriers have on the extant and emergent cannabis industry,’ it says.
“Cannabis Culture is representing 28 other entities that collectively operate about 100 cannabis dispensaries, several of which also operate mail-order distribution models.”
The Canada Supreme Court is scheduled to hold hearings on the case December 5 and 6. The people of Canada support private cannabis retailers. If Canadian courts agree that cannabis should be treated similar to alcohol, then consumers will have the option of both private and government-connected retailers to choose from.
The International Cannabis Business Conference (ICBC) keeps you on top of the latest in Canada’s cannabis scene. Join ICBC next June 24-25, 2018 in Vancouver, BC, as the new Canadian market begins its launch. If you want to know what’s happening sooner, join ICBC this December 1-3, 2017 in Kauai, Hawaii!
Photo credit: abdallahh/Flickr (CC BY 2.0) | Remix by Jason Reed
Canada, Cannabis Culture, Jodie Emery, Liquor Control Board of Ontario
James Tripp
The replacement of an existing, functional, prosperous, and completely viable, dispensary market with an overpriced, overburdened, and monopolistic, government owned corporation is patently INSANE.
Our government is being misinformed by organizations that are pervaded by negative bias against all forms of cannabis use and as a result, our legislation we will be full of flaws based on gross misconceptions regarding how cannabis affects individual human physiology.
Current legislation seems more fixated on the potential profits generated by the emerging recreational Cannabis industry rather than the many medical benefits that cannabinoid therapy could provide to a large segment of the Canadian population.
Please research phytocannabinoids, the endocannabinoid system, and look up patent 6630507, just for starters, before making any assumptions about Cannabis Use and general health and DO NOT let unfounded fear and negative bias block access to the many medical benefits of Cannabinoid Therapy.
Moi_encore
Unfortunately, our so-called gov’t is IN BED WITH THESE corporate-lobbyists having just a grande-ole sadistic & genocidal romp at 35 million Canadians’ expense.
Subterfuge & intentionally misleading tripe consistently on public media is as intentionally misleading as it gets. Whilst holding synthetic replacements in lieu of a NATURAL SAFE REMEDY is a direct negligent attribute to inflicting genocide by definition alone, aside from the fact that this has been ongoing now for the past Crime of the Century here north of the border.
Forget LPeeeee monopoly… How about public lynching for all those even remotely associated let alone directly involved in this RACKET as of late?
High time Mother Nature steps in & weighs out her thoughts..
Mad Dragon
I would gladly offer funds towards this cause, as it is inherently perverse for the once oppressors to now become the suppliers of this great product?! There is already massive collusion between the Liberal government and many Licensed producers in this country, and with their friends in power, they are making a push to eliminate competition through incarceration. This shouldn’t be permitted, and honestly the government should just allow private enterprise to operate this industry, as it will create innovation and increase revenue, vs costing the tax base millions in set up costs of their monopolies.
Just Sayin'
Precisely what happens when industry gets tightly knit with government. Lobbyists end up writing the laws in exchange for huge cash donations to the politicians. They are not interested in the best interest of the medical cannabis consumer at large.
Mad Dragon
This isn’t a case of industry lobbying the government, or being tightly knit? This is a case of corruption and greed, brought on by examples of Colorado and their huge monetary windfall, thinking that they can duplicate it, but only benefit themselves in the process. The industry is not tight with the government, they are against the government, always has been. The government has persecuted many members of the industry, what makes you think that they would be “buddy buddy?!” No one from the existing industry is benefiting from this, only the government and their friends, who are all heavily connected and corrupted. Here is a breakdown;
Borrowed from another post.
There are currently 58 licensed cannabis producers in Canada. Running those 58 corporations are:
10 Liberal Party members, most of whom are former MPs, Cabinet Ministers and 2 former Premiers, 1 former Prime Minister, and the current CFO of the Liberal Party.
7 former senior law enforcement officers, including the former head of the RCMP, former city police chiefs and deputy chiefs.
4 former senior policy developers from Health Canada (which still refuses to acknowledge cannabis as effective, or even medicine).
3 former Conservative MPs, 1 former Premier, 1 sitting Senator.
4 former high-ranking civil servants from Treasury, Finance, & Health.
The rest are friends of the Liberal party, or major donors. No one from the existing Cannabis industry is part of this group.
These are the people trying to control the market before it even gets up and running. These are the people closing down dispensaries, not because they are horrible (think of the children!) but because they are competition. Once again, people are going to jail to keep the market constrained and controlled.
And the losers, once again, are patients.
Just Sayin'
Hey I’m on your side, no need for aggression. That is the industry I am talking about, not grassroots crafts people or the people who rightfully deserve to be involved after paving the way to where things are today through much personal sacrifice of liberty, family, friendships, employment and worse, at the hands of these corrupt , hypocritical politicians who now want to cash in.
In fact, I’ll do you one better and name those former politicians who are now corrupt big business in this space:
* founder and former CEO of Tweed
Mark Zekulin, CEO of Tweed
•former senior adviser to former Ontario finance minister Dwight Duncan
Norman Inkster, Independent Director at Mettrum
•former head of the RCMP
Dr. Joshua Tepper, Independent Director at Mettrum
•formerly Assistant Deputy Minister at the Ministry of Health , Senior Medical Officer for Health Canada, Tom Shipley, Director of Quality Assurance, Tweed
•formerly worked on toxicology research, while at Health Canada, Mike Harcourt, Chairman of True Leaf Medicine Inc
•former B.C. Premier, Kash Heed, strategic consultant with National Green BioMed
•Former B.C. Solicitor General and former West Vancouver police chief, Herb Dhaliwal, Chairman, National Green BioMed
•former Vancouver MP and federal cabinet minister, John Turner, medicinal marijuana applicant in Ontario (With Kash Heed)
•Former Prime Minister of Canada, Mr. Belot, Board of Directors for Aurora
•was a public servant in several ministries within the Ontario government
Brian Wagner, Company founder and CEO NHP Consulting (consults for prospective LP’s)
•Brian was invited to play a strong role in Health Canada’s Program Advisory Committee
Tim Humberstone, ABcann Director / Senior Person in Charge
•former twenty year member of the RCMP included roles in Municipal/Federal Drug Enforcement and with the Joint Forces Organized Crime Agency. Tim has also received extensive training by the RCMP in providing expert court opinion in the fields of cannabis trafficking and production techniques .
Ivan Vrana, founder of Aslan Ross Consulting / speaker mmpr summit
•Previously Mr. Vrána worked for the Federal Government for over 15 years. He worked at the Patented Medicine Prices Review Board, Finance Canada and in various senior policy positions at Health Canada. At Health Canada he was in charge of the team that developed the policy rationale which led to the implementation of the Marihuana for Medical Purposes Regulations.Mr. Vrána is also a regular Lecturer at both Carleton and Concordia universities and teaches a course that examines the internal communication tools governments use to development and implement public policy.
Sandy Pratt, Chief Financial Officer, Emerald Health
•Worked at Deloitte ( auditing firm involved in the senate scandal), Vice President of Business Development and Executive Financial Officer of the Royal British Columbia Museum, a Crown corporation.
Shane Morris, VP, Scientific Affairs and Stakeholder Relations Hydropothecary CEO (now Canadian Cannabis Corp.)
•Since 2000, Shane has been in a range of leadership roles within the Federal Government, from Treasury Board of Canada’s senior advisor (Cabinet Operations) on regulatory affairs to director of policy leadership and Reporting for Resources Canada’s major projects management office.
George Smitherman, THC BioMed, former Ontario Liberal deputy premier
•more than 30 years to public policy fields at the Municipal, Provincial and Federal Level, where roles as Senior Advisor, Minister of Energy and Infrastructure and Ontario’s Minister of Health were held
Jake Ryan, Director of Security: Tilray
* former RCMP Intelligence Officer and federal criminal investigator overseeing all aspects of Tilray’s security protocols and operations.
Ernie Eves, Chairman, Timeless Herbal Care — a Jamaican medical marijuana company.
•former Progressive Conservative premier of Ontario
Kim Derry, a promoter of marijuana facility THC Meds Ontario Inc.
•deputy chief of the Toronto Police Service under Mr. Blair,
John Reynolds, advisor to Vodis Innovative Pharmaceuticals Inc
•former MP with the Progressive Conservative, Reform and Canadian Alliance parties
Senator Larry Campbell, advisor to Vodis Innovative Pharmaceuticals Inc.
•former Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer and Vancouver mayor. And sitting Senator…Barry Daniel, Wildflower’s head of security
•Former Abbotsford police chief.
Cam Battley, Aurora Senior Vice President, Communications and Medical Affairs
•Former Legislative Assistant to the Canadian Minister of Consumer and Corporate Affairs, where he was responsible for developing legislation and steering it through the House of Commons, as well as negotiating with Opposition parties and stakeholder groups.
Anonymous47763
You mean Jodie Emery, not Jodie Giesz-Ramsay. She’s a married woman, why is she using an old last name for this complaint? What the hell is she hiding from?
Moi_encore
Any & ALL such restrictions is an insulting assault on ALL Canadians’ rights & freedoms, let alone HEALTH & WELL BEING.
Racketeering at it’s best, and a simple continuation of genocide by definition, withholding a FREE OPTION for health & preventative steps TO PROVIDE ONE’S SELF WITH ONE’S OWN FOOD & MEDICINE of NATURAL BOUNTY.
Sorry all you unethical greed-infested short-sighted investors.. cutting off your own noses to spite one’s own face is never a good idea… specially when one looses everything & has only their once-valued Canadian Charter protections to provide the means TO LOOK AFTER ONE’S SELF for free..
HHHMM….. Get it yet?
Onward we ALL GROW either way.