The report provides clarity to companies and struck a balance between protecting from potential abuse - such as mixing with alcohol and its use by minors - and allowing people to access the drug, Shea said.

Maintaining Canada’s current mail-order medical cannabis delivery system and also giving access to recreational consumers will ensure equality across the country and have zero impact on communities, said Cam Battley, executive vice-president at Aurora Cannabis. The move would be a big step in chipping away at the country’s illegal market and is something that can be done very rapidly, he added.

“I think there’s a lot of good stuff in here and it’s broadly positive,” Battley said by phone.

The government is trying to make sure all sales go through a proper channel and pharmacies will probably be another potential retail outlet, Canopy Chief Executive Officer Bruce Linton said in an interview on Bloomberg TV Canada.

The panel recommended the government work toward building a competitive market with a “diversity of producers.” It also recommended that provinces and municipalities sort out how retailers would be able to sell marijuana.

There could be about 3.8 million legal recreational users of marijuana across Canada by 2021 and the potential for C$6 billion of sales, Canaccord Genuity analysts Matt Bottomley and Neil Maruoka said in a Nov. 28 note.

“We recognized that there will be much discussion around the implications of our recommendations,” Anne McLellan, chair of the task force, said in the report. “However, like scraping ice from the car windows on a cold winter morning, we believe that we can now see enough to move forward.”

While the focus on public education and health is key, the task force probably went too far with marketing restrictions that will limit branding, said Brendan Kennedy, CEO of Seattle-based Privateer Holdings Inc., which invests in cannabis companies including closely-held British Columbia producer Tilray.

“My fundamental belief is brands are crucial to eliminating the black market,” Kennedy said.

The report said Canada should restrict marijuana advertising, set rules on drug potency and create a public education campaign about the dangers of drug impairment.

Retail outlets shouldn’t mix marijuana and alcohol, and there should also be a direct-mail system of delivery. The experts recommended that individuals should be allowed to grow up to four plants at home and possess 30 grams of dried cannabis. Less serious offences should be taken out of criminal law, while tougher penalties should remain in place for trafficking and sales to youth. Government should restrict marijuana advertising, set rules on drug potency and create a public education campaign about the dangers of drug impairment, the report said.