This October marks three years since the Cannabis Act (otherwise known as Bill C-45) was implemented in Canada, effectively legalizing recreational marijuana in the country.
Pot policymakers and industry experts continue to refine the complex market. One of the recurring issues is packaging, specifically for dried cannabis flowers.
David Brown is a former senior policy advisor with Health Canada's cannabis branch.
He explains, "from an industry perspective, it's an added cost. It limits the amount of packaging available and it makes it more expensive and that cost gets passed on to the consumer."
Dried cannabis flower has no effect on users unless it's been "activated" by exposure to high temperatures through burning, vaporizing, or cooking.
However, federal law mandates the product be sold in child-proof containers, leading to higher costs for the industry and consumers - not to mention the environmental impact from plastic waste.
Brown says it's important to streamline certain cannabis policies in Canada as the industry evolves.
"Now that it's legal, we're going on three years in, we can look around and see what the effects are, and see that the sky has not fallen, and it gives us an opportunity to then refine those rules a little bit more."
The packaging issue will be one of several upcoming Canadian cannabis policy change suggestions being addressed in Ottawa later this year.
