Retailers Challenge Cannabis Store Entry Rules for Minors
- Eight years after legalizing recreational cannabis, Canada maintains a rule that prohibits children from entering licensed cannabis stores, even when accompanied by a parent or guardian.
- Unlike cannabis retailers, liquor stores, pharmacies, and convenience stores often allow minors to accompany adults, highlighting a unique restriction on cannabis retail access for families.
- Most provinces enforce this rule to comply with federal and provincial regulations aimed at preventing minors from seeing cannabis branding and products.
- Parents like Omar Khan express frustration, noting the inconvenience and dilemma of having to either abandon purchases or leave children unattended due to the restriction.
Eight years after Canada legalized recreational cannabis, one of its lesser-known retail rules continues to raise questions among consumers and retailers alike.
Children are prohibited from entering licensed cannabis stores, even when accompanied by a parent or guardian.
Across much of Canada, minors can accompany adults into liquor stores, pharmacies selling controlled medications, and convenience stores where tobacco products are available. Yet a parent stopping at a cannabis retailer while running everyday errands may have to abandon the purchase or find someone to watch their child first.
While regulations differ slightly between provinces, most Canadian jurisdictions prohibit anyone under the legal age from entering a licensed cannabis retail store, even when accompanied by a parent or guardian. By comparison, retail liquor stores generally permit children to accompany adults, with restrictions focused on preventing underage purchases rather than simply entering the premises. This is due to federal and provincial regulations that prevent cannabis brands from being seen by minors.
“I can speak from personal experience. This summer, I have been out with my son and on a couple of occasions, wanted to pick up cannabis beverages for the weekend,” said Omar Khan, Chief Communications and Public Affairs Officer at High Tide Inc. “I could not enter the store because he was too young to wait outside by himself. Parents should not have to choose between abandoning a legal purchase and leaving their child unattended.”
Read the full article at StratCann