Quebec: small-scale cannabis growers as a solution to the shortage

Shortages of Canadian legal cannabis raise a number of questions about the relevance of the current production model. The vast majority of these are due not only to excessive or underestimated demand, but also to production and delivery delays, about which the major producers are generally unwilling to comment. In any case, they are not about to be resolved. According to the new head of the Société québécoise du cannabis, They are likely to get worse, at least until spring.

The SQDC had ordered 9 tonnes of cannabis for the first quarter of legalization, but only received 400 kilos, or 4% of its order. For the time being, production is shared between five federal producers (there were six, but one was bought out by a competitor), including Hexo, a Quebec producer who is responsible for a third of the supply.

There are solutions to these shortages. The Parti politique québécois Bloc Pot is opposed to the «federal oligopoly of legal cannabis production» and is seeking to encourage the participation of small producers in the industry.

The party

Bloc Pot is not happy with the way cannabis has been legalized in Canada. The party denounces a system that favors mega-companies to the detriment of more ecological, local and ethical initiatives. It warns against the privatization of the living with the practice of patenting plant genetics. «Legalization is just a word that can mean anything and everything, depending on the context and who you're talking to. a post on the Party website by Hugô St-Onge. «Our legalization is intended to be inclusive, equitable and consistent».

The party is inspired by Quebec's well-established microbrewery model. The government has a monopoly on in-store sales of hard liquor, but producers can market low-alcohol beverages in grocery stores and supermarkets. There is no real legal distinction between large brewers and microbreweries, but a distinction is often made on the basis of production volume and, above all, the type of license: industrial manufacturers have the right to market their product in stores, while artisan producers can only set up tasting rooms on the production site.

Since the government reduced taxes on alcohol for small producers, microbreweries have proliferated and boosted the local economy. It's a similar model, based on small local producers, that the Cannabis Party is advocating. All the more so since the contribution of small-scale producers could solve Canada's current cannabis shortage problems.

L'Union

The party recently created Union of Independent Cannabis Producers of Quebec, This organization aims to bring together producers other than the large industrial producers with trade permits. These are accredited by Health Canada and already have production permits, but not sales permits. They include people with a cannabis prescription who have the right to grow their plants but are committed to destroying their surplus, and micro-producers, a still ill-defined status which authorizes intra-industry sales, but not direct sales or sales to retailers.

The aim of the Union is therefore to bring together this type of producer - there are some 15,000 in Quebec, including 5,000 with a fairly large production capacity - to apply together, as a Union, for a sales permit. The Union would recover the portion of production destined for sale, ensuring quality and compliance with standards before selling to the SDQC. It offers producers sales, packaging, processing, laboratory and group purchasing services. It will also act as their representative vis-à-vis the government, promoting a fairer system with the participation of small and medium-sized producers.

The aim is to establish a win-win partnership, since their contributions can help fill the gaps in the current system and prevent consumers from turning back to the black market.