One of the best parts of attending the Cannabis World Congress and Business Expo last week was the pile of free stickers we nabbed from the Aurora Cannabis Inc. (TSX:ACB) (OTC:ACBFF) booth on the expo floor. A proposed ban may make promotional items like these a thing of the past for Canadian licensed producers.
On June 1st, the Canadian Senate adopted an amendment to Bill C-45 that would prohibit the use of marijuana brand elements on promotional items, a.k.a. swag, that are not cannabis or cannabis accessories. This could prevent licensed producers from doing more than just giving away hats and t-shirts though.
Not only could this end up preventing L.P.s from using their logos on signage at expos like the one last week, but it could also prevent these companies from killing their black market competition.
On one hand, Senator Judith Seidman thinks that L.P. backpacks and t-shirts appeal to children. On the other hand, Cam Battley, Aurora's Chief Corporate Officer believes "licensed producers need to do a certain amount of reasonable, restricted branding" if they'd like to move consumers from the black market over to the regulated market.
To add insult to injury, the alcohol industry has no such ban.
We'll be watching later this week as Bill C-45 and several amendments will come to a final vote on Thursday before heading back to the House of Commons for final approval.
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