Call it the gummy conundrum.
Canada released its regulations Friday for new cannabis formats that will become legal this fall, including edibles, beverages and vape cartridges. The government crafted rules aimed at keeping the drug out of the hands of minors, so it wasn’t surprising to see producers will be prohibited from selling products “that can reasonably be considered appealing to a young person.”
But the vagueness of that phrase has led to some head-scratching.
“A cookie is appealing to a kid, so can I make a cookie? Can I make a brownie? What do you mean by appealing to kids?” said cannabis lawyer Trina Fraser, a partner at Brazeau Seller Law in Ottawa.
On a media call Friday, a Health Canada official said it would be possible for a pot company to develop a gummy, chocolate bar or baked good that isn’t considered appealing to kids, depending on its color, shape, flavor and branding.
“I would suggest that it’s not a difficult thing to determine,” the official said. “Think of chocolate bars on the market today: there are chocolate bars that are designed and marketed to adult consumers and there are chocolates and candies that are marketed to kids.”
That means gummy bears are probably out of the question for now, said Fraser.
“Maybe your gummies are going to have to be square and clear, not red and yellow and orange and green and bear-shaped, but they’ll taste the same and you’ll have the same outcome and effect, it just won’t be deemed to be appealing to kids,” she said.
The government has already showed a willingness to ease off on regulations -- for example, it’s toned down some of the scarier health warnings on cannabis packaging -- and is likely to do so again in the future, Fraser said.
“It’s really hard to go back and increase regulation later,” she said. “It’s much easier to start with a high level of regulation and then relax it over time.”