The Cannabis Council of Canada (C3) has launched an advocacy campaign to represent the interests of Canadian licensed producers ahead of the federal election on Sept. 20.

The campaign, titled #FutureofCanadianCannabis, will focus on advocating for criminal expungements, removing medical cannabis taxation and other priority issues concerning the cannabis industry.

“Our goal is to leverage the election period to encourage more license holders to develop lasting relationships with their local Member of Parliament and to help elected officials understand the benefits of legal cannabis for their communities and their constituents,” said C3 president and CEO, George Smitherman.

In its letters to each federal party leader, the organization highlighted its views on the following topics:

• The barriers for social progress and equity within the legal cannabis environment, especially for Black, Indigenous and People of Colour (BIPOC) individuals.
• The significant public safety and health shortcomings of legalization resulting from the prevalence of the criminal market, which comprises of at least half of the recreational cannabis market.
• The challenges consumers face with limited avenues to understand products and the consequences of consumer confusion.
• Consumers lacking access to CBD-only products and the resulting lost opportunities for job creation, research and development, and taxation.
• The challenges facing exporters of medical cannabis resulting from over-regulation.

C3 recently launched a series of advocacy training sessions open to all Health Canada License Holders.