Newly formed lobbying group wants cannabis-infused beverage rules to be adapted so that companies don’t need to build separate facilities

Ten companies hoping to produce and sell cannabis-infused beverages are asking Health Canada to be allowed to use packaging as familiar to consumers as traditional-looking wine bottles and utilize branding techniques that are on par with alcohol branding rules.

Led by cannabis advocate and former Nova Scotia premier Darrell Dexter, the newly formed Cannabis Beverage Producers Alliance also wants to see legislation be adapted so that companies do not need to build separate facilities for infused beverages.

“We’re keen to share expertise honed over decades of producing, packaging and distributing international award-winning products, from alcoholic and non-alcoholic craft beers, lagers and wines to high-quality dried cannabis flower,” Dexter says in an alliance press release.

Under the existing Cannabis Act, Health Canada has reported that edible cannabis, cannabis topicals and extracts will be permitted for legal sale no later than Oct. 17, 2019. The federal department, the alliance notes, is in the midst of reviewing about 7,000 submissions received during a public consultation period around how edible products will be regulated.

“The alliance is grateful for the opportunity to continue collaborating with Health Canada on the development of regulations that prioritize consumer safety,” Dexter says.

Canadian companies await a final set of regulations to guide how they will connect consumers with cannabis-infused beverages as soon as it’s legal to do so, expected to arrive in late summer 2019. Under the draft regulations, plain packaging and labelling is required for all cannabis products, including strict limits on the use of logos, colours and branding. The proposed regulations suggest that packaging should not associate a cannabis-infused beverage with alcoholic beverages or brands of alcohol.

In the case of a company manufacturing more than just cannabis products, separate buildings within one licensed site would need to be used, a measure meant mitigate against the food safety and public health concerns associated with facilities that make more than one product.

“As Canada’s cannabis industry continues to grow, each alliance member company also looks forward to collectively employing hundreds more Canadians, adding to a workforce that to date has helped grow the Canadian economy and employ skilled workers from coast-to-coast,” notes Dexter.

Alliance member companies include Hill Street Beverage Company, Lifford Cannabis Solutions, Province Brands of Canada, Truss Beverages, Cannabis Compliance Inc., CanBev (WeedMD and Phivida Holdings JV), Collective Arts Brewing, VinFirst Innovative Packaging and Lakeside Process Controls.

The alliance includes manufacturers, industry professionals and advisors who advocate for the safe, reliable and replicable production of legal cannabis beverages. It also aims to lobby for wide legal access, consumers and public safety.

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