A cannabis cartel in Canada inevitable? – Cannabis News, Lifestyle

Is a cannabis cartel inevitable in Canada? No one knows when the United States will legalize cannabis, but it seems imminent. Once that happens, will Canada’s major licensed producers lobby for domestic protections? Like Canada’s telecom industry? Canadians are “protected” from American competition. So we end up with a cartel: Bell, Rogers and Telus. And the highest internet/telephone prices in the developed world.

Is this the future of Canadian cannabis?

The US House of Representatives passed the MORE Act last week. The legislation aims to legalize recreational cannabis in the United States. If approved in the Senate, Canada’s comparative advantage will be game over. What role, if any, does Canada play in the multi-billion dollar global cannabis industry? Our growing season is short. And we can’t compete with grow lights that buzz 10 months a year.

The conditions are ripe for a cannabis cartel in Canada

No Canadian cannabis cartel has yet emerged. Too many consumers demand premium, artisanal products. Instead, Canada has positioned itself as the world’s largest exporter of legal cannabis.

But beneath the surface, things are not what they seem. A 1961 United Nations treaty considers cannabis a dangerous narcotic. International imports and exports are limited to scientific and medical purposes.

Also, our domestic laws are carcinogenic. Excise taxes (or “sin” taxes) on recreational cannabis are unnecessary. When it comes to medical cannabis, they are downright immoral. Other government surcharges hurt industry and consumers. For example, provinces like Quebec ban private retailers entirely.

What if the US legalizes it?

Other states south of the border are legalizing cannabis. But as long as it remains illegal federally, there will be no cross-border trade. But let’s say the MORE Act becomes law and Americans enjoy legal cannabis nationwide by this time next year. Does this mean Canadians can finally import high-potency edibles from their southern neighbors?

Or will a ban prevent Canadians from peaceful trade? In the same way are we blocked from buying cheaper internet? And phone plans with truly unlimited data? Will a cannabis cartel condemn Canadians to 10mg edibles forever? Meanwhile, our American friends enjoy edibles at ten times that amount.

An inevitable cannabis cartel? Read between the lines

Rick Savone is Senior Vice President of Aurora Cannabis and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Canadian Cannabis Council. He told the Financial Post, “It is time for the federal and provincial governments in Canada to stand behind our sector in preparing for this economic and competitive opportunity that is just around the corner.”

Exactly what that means, no one can imagine. Innocent pronouncements or calls for a cannabis cartel? Sounds like he could call on governments to protect the Canadian cannabis market from foreign competition.

Does he want Canadian cannabis to look more like our banking sector? Again, Canadians are at the mercy of a cartel: RBC, BMO, CIBC, TD Bank and Scotiabank. These companies can (and do) invest heavily in the US banking sector.

But are American banks allowed to operate in Canada? Of course not.

Can Canadians start a bank like a hardware store? Absolutely not.

International imports and exports are limited to scientific and medical purposes.

Future of the Canadian cannabis industry

Is this the same type of cartel? Will Canada’s big producers absorb the smaller ones? Are the bigger producers finally getting their cartel? Cartels that appear to be a right of passage for every major Canadian industry? Even though it’s officially illegal?

Only time and American legalization will tell. Until then, unfortunately, history is not on the side of free market competition. Canada’s small cannabis industry will likely be viewed as a David versus a Goliath.

The Goliath, of course, is the huge US cannabis market. It’s a situation ripe for the kind of anti-American propaganda many Canadians are gorging on like Timbits.

It’s an apology for a Canadian cannabis cartel.