The proposed regulatory amendments would allow consumers to possess 17.1 litres of beverages, up from 2.1 litres.

Last week, Health Canada opened a consultation regarding amendments to the federal cannabis regulations, including facilitating non-therapeutic research on cannabis involving human participants and boosting the public possession limits for infused drinks.

The consultation is open for input until Apr. 25.

Currently, Canadians are limited to purchasing the equivalent of 2.1 litres of beverages at a time, despite the 10 milligram THC cap per product. Under the proposed amendments, Canadians would be able to purchase up to 17.1 litres of beverages at once.

The limits on drinks have long been a frustration of producers and consumers alike.

“I can either order 5 units totalling 10mg of #THC or I can order 73 units totalling 63,510mg of #THC but both of these = 30g of #Cannabis. See the problem!?,” Deepak Anand, co-founder and CEO of medical cannabis company Materia Ventures, tweeted in June 2020, comparing the purchase limits of beverages to cannabis oil.

Ahead of the “Cannabis 2.0” rollout, Health Canada opted to translate the 30 gram possession limit to a liquid equivalent of 2.1 litres, despite the fact that some beverages contain as little as 2.5 mg of THC or even none at all.

“This is the most egregious and quirky aspect of that formula. It’s just off,” Smitherman said.

Some of Canada’s largest cannabis corporations, like Canopy Growth, which inked a $5 billion dollar deal with Constellation Brands in 2018, a leading international producer and marketer of beer, wine and spirits, and Hexo, which entered a joint venture agreement with Molson Coors Canada that same year, have long rallied for amendments to the possession limits.

That joint venture, Truss Beverage Co., recently launched Cann, one of the leading cannabis drinks in the U.S., in the Canadian market. Truss’ other beverage brands include Mollo, Veryvell and XMG.

While dried flower and pre-rolls continue to dominate sales in Canada, they are beginning to cede some market share to topicals, beverages and vaporizers, according to the annual Canadian Cannabis Survey.