Editor’s Note: What would Canadian cannabis legalization mean for NAFTA?
From: Vice
SIDELINED
Big Tobacco claims the government is playing favourites with cannabis companies
Buried underneath the pomp and circumstance of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s grand plan to legalize recreational weed, is an angry faction — one that feels the government is playing favourites, granting cannabis companies the kind of leniency this particular industry hasn’t experienced in decades.
***
The government says its priority is to keep legal weed at a price that is competitive with the black market in order to encourage consumers to purchase marijuana legally. Araya, the tobacco executive, acknowledges the potential efficacy of this policy, but he claims that the hypocrisy lies in the fact that there is a thriving contraband market for cigarettes that authorities pay very little attention to.
