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A new arm of the LCBO will sell recreational marijuana in Ontario, the province announced Friday morning, with the goal being to keep people from buying it.
Customers will have to show identification and get their pot from salespeople behind counters in up to 150 standalone marijuana stores by 2020, with the actual marijuana concealed in plain cases, the way corner stores now store tobacco.
“These stores will operate with the same socially-responsible retailing standards that apply to alcohol, as well as additional federal requirements for cannabis sales,” the government announced in a three-minister event, featuring Finance Minister Charles Sousa, Attorney General Yasir Naqvi, and Health Minister Eric Hoskins. They’ll consult with municipalities on just where to put them, mindful that some people won’t want them near schools, for instance.
Sales will be restricted to people 19 and older and recreational marijuana use will only be allowed in private residences. So don’t expect marijuana vaping lounges or even to be allowed to smoke a joint in places you can currently smoke a cigarette. Indoors at home only.
The rules will be written in legislation due this fall. The province is working on a deadline: the federal government under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has promised its own legislation to legalize marijuana by next summer.
Neither the federal nor the provincial government seems very eager to do any of this, though.
“We’ve heard people across Ontario are anxious about the federal legalization of cannabis,” Naqvi said. “The province is moving forward with a safe and sensible approach to legalization that will ensure we can keep our communities and roads safe, promote public health and harm reduction, and protect Ontario’s young people.”
They’re still working on how the government retailer will buy its marijuana wholesale and how it’ll be priced. “Final decisions will be informed by focusing on the objectives of discouraging consumption and eliminating the illegal market,” the ministers’ announcement said.
Ontario has 660 government-run liquor stores now and a further 212 “agency stores,” where private grocery and convenience-store owners in more rural areas have licences to sell alcohol. So there’ll be a comparative lack of government pot shops.
The government says online sales will begin in 2018, on the same terms as it’s legal to buy alcohol online — with ID checks and signatures required upon delivery. That’s how people without a nearby marijuana store will be able to get the stuff.
The province and cities will crack down on the proliferation of private storefront marijuana shops, which are illegal and will stay that way. Dozens have opened across the province since the Liberal government announced its legalization plans, with owners hoping to get momentum. Expect more aggressive police enforcement.
Having the LCBO run the retail marijuana business means it’s likely the jobs in the government stores will be filled by employees represented by the Ontario Public Service Employees Union, historically one of the provincial government’s most obstreperous. OPSEU has lobbied for the LCBO to handle pot sales for years.
More to come.
dreevely@postmedia.com
twitter.com/davidreevely
查看原文...
Customers will have to show identification and get their pot from salespeople behind counters in up to 150 standalone marijuana stores by 2020, with the actual marijuana concealed in plain cases, the way corner stores now store tobacco.
“These stores will operate with the same socially-responsible retailing standards that apply to alcohol, as well as additional federal requirements for cannabis sales,” the government announced in a three-minister event, featuring Finance Minister Charles Sousa, Attorney General Yasir Naqvi, and Health Minister Eric Hoskins. They’ll consult with municipalities on just where to put them, mindful that some people won’t want them near schools, for instance.
Sales will be restricted to people 19 and older and recreational marijuana use will only be allowed in private residences. So don’t expect marijuana vaping lounges or even to be allowed to smoke a joint in places you can currently smoke a cigarette. Indoors at home only.
The rules will be written in legislation due this fall. The province is working on a deadline: the federal government under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has promised its own legislation to legalize marijuana by next summer.
Neither the federal nor the provincial government seems very eager to do any of this, though.
“We’ve heard people across Ontario are anxious about the federal legalization of cannabis,” Naqvi said. “The province is moving forward with a safe and sensible approach to legalization that will ensure we can keep our communities and roads safe, promote public health and harm reduction, and protect Ontario’s young people.”
They’re still working on how the government retailer will buy its marijuana wholesale and how it’ll be priced. “Final decisions will be informed by focusing on the objectives of discouraging consumption and eliminating the illegal market,” the ministers’ announcement said.
Ontario has 660 government-run liquor stores now and a further 212 “agency stores,” where private grocery and convenience-store owners in more rural areas have licences to sell alcohol. So there’ll be a comparative lack of government pot shops.
The government says online sales will begin in 2018, on the same terms as it’s legal to buy alcohol online — with ID checks and signatures required upon delivery. That’s how people without a nearby marijuana store will be able to get the stuff.
The province and cities will crack down on the proliferation of private storefront marijuana shops, which are illegal and will stay that way. Dozens have opened across the province since the Liberal government announced its legalization plans, with owners hoping to get momentum. Expect more aggressive police enforcement.
Having the LCBO run the retail marijuana business means it’s likely the jobs in the government stores will be filled by employees represented by the Ontario Public Service Employees Union, historically one of the provincial government’s most obstreperous. OPSEU has lobbied for the LCBO to handle pot sales for years.
More to come.
dreevely@postmedia.com
twitter.com/davidreevely
查看原文...
