As more states legalize cannabis, Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America called on the Federal Government to apply the bev/al regulatory model to cannabis – allow the states to legalize it, but ensure they meet an appropriate regulatory threshold.
The legal cannabis market continues to expand in the U.S. reaching $7.2 billion in 2016, WSWA said.
Legalization should include regulations that set age restrictions on buyers, as well as license and regulate the marijuana supply chain, including growers, distributors, retailers and testing laboratories.
Effective cannabis market regulation would include these factors, WSWA said:
- A minimum age of 21 for purchases, possession and use, along with penalties for supplying cannabis to minors’
- Driving Under the Influence impaired driving standards;
- Licensing producers, processors, distributors and retailers;
- Policies to prevent vertical monopoly/integration;
- Hours and days of sales similar to alcohol;
- Tax Collection and enforcement;
- Measures to prevent diversion to other states’
- Restrictions on sale/common carrier delivery;
- Advertising restrictions to discourage underage access and promote responsible consumption;
- Establishing an agency to oversee cannabis industry regulation in each state;
- Penalties for licensee violations on par with the state’s alcohol regulations, and
- Regulations insuring all products in the market can be tracked/traced to source processor/producer.
“Eight decades ago, Americans acknowledged that the Prohibition of alcohol was a failed policy. The state-based system of regulation, adopted after Prohibition, created a U.S. beverage alcohol market that is the safest, most competitive and best regulated in the world,” WSWA Acting Executive Vice President, External Affairs, Dawson Hobbs said.
“Adult use of cannabis is here to stay,” WSWA said in a position paper reviewed by Kane’s Beverage News Daily. “WSWA believes that enacting a robust regulatory structure is best done now, before problems arise.
“Like alcohol, cannabis is a product that can be misused. Effective regulation will limit underage access to the product, discourage over-consumption, ensure product purity and keep our roads safe.
WSWA said it believes the three-tier system is an appropriate regulatory model. The benefits of public safety, product purity and market balance have been well proven in the alcohol sector, it said.
The trade group noted that a recent study found that accidents involving drivers under the influence of drugs now surpass those involving drivers under the influence of alcohol. “Our industry has worked hard to decrease the frequency of alcohol-related accidents and believes the same can be done for cannabis,” it said.
WSWA is the only bev/al trade association to support legalization of cannabis.
In an interview on Fox Business’s “Kennedy,” Dawson said WSWA will focus on encouraging Congress to allow states to legalize cannabis, with an appropriate amount of regulation.
“It would allow states to have a safe marketplace,” he said.