{"id":170923,"date":"2018-07-14T02:13:56","date_gmt":"2018-07-14T06:13:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=170923"},"modified":"2018-07-14T02:13:56","modified_gmt":"2018-07-14T06:13:56","slug":"health-canada-concerned-by-cannabis-companies-sponsoring-music-events","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2018\/07\/14\/health-canada-concerned-by-cannabis-companies-sponsoring-music-events\/","title":{"rendered":"Health Canada ‘concerned’ by cannabis companies sponsoring music events"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Health<\/a>
Health Canada issued a statement noting that cannabis companies have been dabbling in various forms of marketing that raise red flags, although it highlighted music festivals as a particular point of concern. (Pixabay photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Health Canada said Friday it’s prepared to crack down on licensed medical marijuana producers who are sponsoring music festivals and other events.<\/p>\n

The federal department said it’s \u201cconcerned\u201d about some companies that have engaged in corporate sponsorships and other promotional activities that go against the Cannabis Act.<\/p>\n

It said the government has made it \u201cabundantly clear\u201d what isn’t permitted under the laws, such as marketing to minors.<\/p>\n

Health Canada issued a statement noting that cannabis companies have been dabbling in various forms of marketing that raise red flags, although it highlighted music festivals as a particular point of concern.<\/p>\n

Tweed, a brand owned by Canopy Growth Corp., is among the companies that have been sponsoring events, including the Field Trip music festival and Pride Toronto this summer.<\/p>\n

The company’s spokeswoman, Caitlin O’Hara, wrote in an emailed statement that Canopy is focused on education and responsible use of its product.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have reviewed all activities with counsel to ensure compliance and continue to work collaboratively with regulators in support of this shared objective,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Aurora Cannabis is another producer has taken a prominent sponsorship role at various Canadian events, including the North By Northeast music festival in June. Representatives for the company declined to comment on Friday.<\/p>\n

Eileen McMahon, a partner at Torys LLP who leads the drug and regulatory practice, said Health Canada’s warning doesn’t come as much of a surprise, since the cannabis market is experimenting ahead of legalization on Oct. 17.<\/p>\n

She said many companies are attempting to get their brand names into public consciousness before they expect regulations to be enforced.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is an opportunity where companies say, ‘What is legal and illegal under current law? What is grey and in the grey area? And can we play there in a way that’s defensible?\u201d’ she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome companies will take some risks … others won’t. I think you see that activity taking place and the government’s reaction.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Health Canada didn’t directly acknowledge companies it deemed offenders, it said the actions have underscored a need for \u201crigorous enforcement\u201d of the laws.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe department is reviewing the actions of existing licensed producers and will be taking every possible step to bring them into compliance or prevent non-compliance with existing laws,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThose who do not adhere to the applicable prohibitions will face serious consequences, which may include, if appropriate, suspension of their licence.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Health Canada said Friday it’s prepared to crack down on licensed medical marijuana producers who are sponsoring music festivals and …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":170924,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18,16],"tags":[53240,9964,53241],"class_list":["post-170923","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news-ca","category-news","tag-cannabis-companies","tag-health-canada","tag-music-events","mauthors-david-friend","mauthors-the-canadian-press"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/170923","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/33"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=170923"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/170923\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/170924"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=170923"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=170923"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=170923"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}