Provincial Government Announces It’s Asking Ontarians for Feedback – LPC
Ontario cannabis lounges and cafés as well as open-air festival licences could be available in the future. The provincial government said it considering what it calls “consumption venues”. That would include special occasion permits for outdoor festivals and concerts.
“We are asking Ontarians to share their feedback as we explore certain expanded cannabis-related business opportunities,” said Ontario Attorney General Doug Downey. “What we hear from the public and expert groups will help to inform possible next steps.”
Downey called the consultation on Ontario cannabis lounges “part of our responsible approach to protecting families and communities”.
Meanwhile, consultant Robyn Rabinovich, who advises cannabis sector clients, said the proposal could help fight black market cannabis.
“There are a lot of opportunities for businesses like cafés and restaurants to start making steps into the cannabis industry,” Rabinovich said. “This could ensure it’s done in a regulated and safe way.”
Ontarians have until March 10 to provide their input on Ontario cannabis lounges. However, there are no timeline to make changes.
Ontario Cannabis Lounges, Although the Gold Standard, Would Be Difficult to Justify Legally – LPC
Few in the industry would argue against Ontario cannabis lounges. Consumers like a nice, social place to gather. Licensed producers would see it as another avenue of revenue. Café owners existed before official legalization, and would be chomping at the bit to be there again.
However, one difficulty would be getting around Ontario’s smoking laws. You could argue that since everyone in Ontario cannabis lounges would be “smokers” – or at least willingly enter knowing that smoking is the purpose. But one of the reasons they were put in place was to protect the health of workers. Making a legal exception for cannabis consumption over tobacco would be difficult. This is addressed in the very first question listed in the government feedback form. (Download the Cannabis Consumption Establishments feedback form here.)
This idea is being floated as part of Ford’s plan to open up Ontario’s retail cannabis market. This article states that the province has now received over 700 licence applications since it scrapped the cannabis lottery system. (Please see link to full article below.)
It’s unknown whether or not public consultations on Ontario cannabis lounges will be transparent. Feedback would not be legally binding in any way. Although it would be nice to see cannabis lounges, there is a chance that special occasion permits will pass while lounges fail. Given that cannabis is already freely consumed at these venues anyway, selling permits in outdoor spaces would be another revenue source for government.
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A simple way around this legislation was used in California when no smoking in bars appeared. Some bars simple changed to private clubs which allowed smoking, $1 lifetime membership. It worked for a few years.
I personally believe that if the govenment truly wants to get rid of the black market as is their stated goal in the cannabis act then some of this red tape needs to come down. As long as the black market still wins on the 3 P’s, proximity, potency, and price it isn’t going away anytime soon.
Hi Mike,
Yes, great idea — except that Ontario smoking laws specifically forbid that. It doesn’t matter if it’s a private club — if there are staff who could be exposed to smoke, then you can’t get around the law. That’s what makes this case so interesting — if lawmakers make an exception for cannabis, will restaurant/bar owners kick up a fuss and say that tobacco consumption in their establishments should be allowed exemptions too?
It’s a slippery slope. Ultimately, cannabis lounges would be welcome by many. How it’s framed though — if it happens — could be tricky.
Our feeling is that the cannabis lounge portion of the idea will fail, but the outdoor licence will pass. Again, the outdoor thing is happening anyway whereas the cannabis lounge idea would be a huge jump. We wonder if the cannabis lounge plan is a smokescreen (pardon the pun) to draw focus so that the outdoor festival licence can pass with much less scrutiny by media, interest groups. and in turn voters.
Thanks for chiming in.
good aftrernoon,
Why could we not put a ventilation requirement, within reason and no staff in the smoking rooms?? We could rewrite the SOP to appeal to the current regulations. The experienced and knowledgeable individuals who have grown or are growing with high and very strict standards have full understanding on air quality, purification and overall atmospheric conditions. Couple these skills with skilled HVAC and no room should ever look like a 1980’s pool hall………layers of smoke. I think we know the standards and regulations, let’s approach from a different way maybe?? My 2 cents. Cheers.
Hi Joesph,
Agreed. There have been exceptions already including for Indigenous smudging ceremonies in Ontario hospitals using localized ventilation systems to eliminate smoke. It would be great to see an exemption using this type of workaround to legalize cannabis cafes as well.
Thanks for chiming in!