Pubdate: Thu, 16 Feb 2017
Source: Truro Daily News (CN NS)
Copyright: 2017 The Daily News
Contact:  http://www.trurodaily.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1159
Page: 6

BEYOND CONCERN ABOUT LABELS

It's a tough call, whether companies soon to be marketing recreational
marijuana should be allowed to brand their product. A precedent is in
the works with tobacco, to deny manufacturers the right to have
distinctive packaging. Some would extend that same caution to pot.

It's an issue that government will ultimately have to grapple with -
while hearing from proponents on both sides of the argument.

Garfield Mahood of Vancouver, president of the Campaign for Justice on
Tobacco Fraud, campaigned for decades to get the federal government to
force tobacco companies to use plain packaging.

It didn't gain much ground, until 2016, when Health Minister Jane
Philpott vowed to ban branding on cigarette boxes and a bill was
introduced in the Senate.

Mahood says he has little faith in the feds following suit when it
comes to marijuana products, expected to be legalized with regulated
sale in place later this year.

The argument is that cannabis is a product that will raise concerns
about health among users. On the other hand, the people in the
industry say that marijuana, although perhaps not benign from a health
point of view, is far less dangerous than tobacco, or alcohol for that
matter.

We knew when the federal Liberals announced intentions to go ahead
with legalization and controlled sales that, no matter how it's done,
we're getting into uncharted territory. There will be questions and
plenty of debate about how best to go about it.

A classic Pandora's Box, perhaps, but the overall intent of the
government is sound - acknowledging that laws have been ineffective in
stopping use of marijuana and, by legalizing it, taking sales out of
the hands of criminals.

Therein lies some of what this new, legitimate industry argues when it
comes to branding. The various products will have different
characteristics. In addition, spokespersons say packaging would be
part of the experience in setting their legal product apart from the
illegal stuff, ordinarily brought to you in a baggie.

Comparisons to alcohol sales are inevitable. As many have pointed out,
not all whiskies are created equal, for example.

The connoisseur will go out of his way for the 18-year-old single malt
rather than settle for the three-year-old blend. But it takes
labelling and, like most things in retail, advertising to distinguish
products and their appeal.

Prospective consumers of this newly legal product will expect that.
More critical here, rather than denying producers the ability to
brand, is to ensure that users have information about the risks of
cannabis and means to get help if abuse does become problem.
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MAP posted-by: Matt