Quebec: ban on the sale of items «associated» with cannabis challenged in court

Christopher Mennillo, co-owner of Prohibition, a chain of smoking accessory stores based in the Montreal area, has filed a lawsuit against the Quebec government over a law that prevents him from selling many cannabis-related items.

Heard by the Superior Court of Quebec last week, the challenge targets Section 50 of Quebec’s Cannabis Regulation Act, which prohibits businesses from selling «an item that is not cannabis […] if a name, logo, distinctive symbol, design, image, or slogan that is directly associated with cannabis, a cannabis brand, the Société québécoise du cannabis (cannabis retailer), or a cannabis producer appears on that item.«.

Violators are subject to fines starting at 2,500 Canadian dollars (2,000 dollars).

Some Prohibition stores have been warned not to sell certain items since the law went into effect on legalizing cannabis in Canada without being fined. Christopher Mennillo said it doesn't make sense that he had to stop selling cannabis-derived products after it was legalized in 2018.

«After 35 years of selling a product, we didn’t expect it to become illegal once it was legalized,» Mennillo said.

While he isn’t opposed to restrictions on advertising by cannabis manufacturers and producers, he believes that Quebec’s law goes too far. «You can’t sell a T-shirt with »420’ on it, for example,” he said, adding that he also had to stop selling candles, books, and magazines.

«A T-shirt is one thing, but what about books? It’s illegal to sell an educational book on cannabis because there’s a total ban on it,» he said.

Prohibition estimates that it has lost 1.5 million Canadian dollars a year as a result of the law since October 2018.

Charles Gravel, the provincial government’s attorney, stated that the ban aims to reduce the harmful effects of cannabis use on the public, particularly young people. He argued that the visibility of products featuring cannabis-related imagery encourages use, and that even though the T-shirts are sold only to adults, they will be seen by young people.

The province, which is Canada's second-most populous, has also banned the sale of vaping products cannabis, as well as edibles, has raised the legal age to 21 and prohibits self-cultivation. This latter prohibition was overturned by the courts in 2019, but still in effect, as the judgment has been remanded for appeal.