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Ottawa’s freewheeling pot shops will be shut out and shut down under the provincial government’s plan for cannabis sales.
The province’s announcement that it will open LCBO-style marijuana stores leaves out independent, owner-operated shops, an option favoured by many cannabis activists.
Illegal dispensaries are not part of the plan, and the province will work with police forces and municipalities to shut them down, warned government ministers at a press conference Friday morning. Illegal dispensaries have proliferated in Ottawa, Toronto and Hamilton. Ottawa has about 19 shops, while Toronto has 70 or 80.
Ottawa police have conducted multiple raids on pot shops over the last year, but many simply re-open.
The shops will be closed, warned Attorney General Yasir Naqvi at the press conference. “If you operate one of these facilities, consider yourself on notice.”
Ontario plans to set up a subsidiary of the LCBO to operate cannabis stores and also sell pot online.
Expect 40 stores to be open across the province by July 2018, the date the federal government has promised that recreational marijuana will be legal, said Finance Minister Charles Sousa. By the end of 2018, there should be 80 stores, with about 150 stand-alone stores by 2020.
In comparison, the LCBO has more than 650 retail stores and more than 210 agency stores, which are private groceries and convenience stores that have licences to sell alcohol.
How quickly stores open depends partly on the pot supply, which will come from producers licensed by Health Canada. Legal growers that now supply medical marijuana patients are ramping up their production, and Health Canada has speeded up the approval of new licences. It’s still unclear, though, if there will be enough pot produced to meet demand not only in Ontario, but across the country.
Ontario’s cannabis stores will initially sell dried weed and oil, because those are the products the federal government has decided will be available first. The federal government has promised that edible cannabis products will be regulated later.
The popular edible products, from brownies to gummy bears, are now widely available illegally at pot shops and online.
The LCBO was chosen to control marijuana distribution and sales because it has a proven track record, expertise and operational abilities, said Sousa.
The stand-alone marijuana stores will be run by the LCBO, but they won’t resemble the average LCBO outlet.
Sales will be from behind the counter, similar to the way cigarettes are sold. Products won’t be visible to consumers. The approach is reminiscent of how liquor was sold in the province decades ago, when customers filled out a form with their order and a clerk went to the back room to retrieve the bottle.
It’s better to start with strong controls that may be eased over time, said Sousa.
The province will also abide by federal legislation that is expected to heavily restrict advertising of cannabis products.
Cannabis store staff will be trained to ensure they have “knowledge of the individual products and public health information about how to use cannabis responsibly,” according to a government release.
The province will work with municipalities to determine the location of stores, including such factors as proximity to schools.
Ontario will not bring illegal dispensaries into the plan, says Sousa. The province wants to send a strong signal that cannabis sales will be controlled by the government, he said.
Once legal cannabis stores open, consumers will have “an alternative source of supply,” said Sousa. He suggested some legal stores will deliberately be set up near illegal shops to compete.
jmiller@postmedia.com
twitter.com/JacquieAMiller
查看原文...
The province’s announcement that it will open LCBO-style marijuana stores leaves out independent, owner-operated shops, an option favoured by many cannabis activists.
Illegal dispensaries are not part of the plan, and the province will work with police forces and municipalities to shut them down, warned government ministers at a press conference Friday morning. Illegal dispensaries have proliferated in Ottawa, Toronto and Hamilton. Ottawa has about 19 shops, while Toronto has 70 or 80.
Ottawa police have conducted multiple raids on pot shops over the last year, but many simply re-open.
The shops will be closed, warned Attorney General Yasir Naqvi at the press conference. “If you operate one of these facilities, consider yourself on notice.”
Ontario plans to set up a subsidiary of the LCBO to operate cannabis stores and also sell pot online.
Expect 40 stores to be open across the province by July 2018, the date the federal government has promised that recreational marijuana will be legal, said Finance Minister Charles Sousa. By the end of 2018, there should be 80 stores, with about 150 stand-alone stores by 2020.
In comparison, the LCBO has more than 650 retail stores and more than 210 agency stores, which are private groceries and convenience stores that have licences to sell alcohol.
How quickly stores open depends partly on the pot supply, which will come from producers licensed by Health Canada. Legal growers that now supply medical marijuana patients are ramping up their production, and Health Canada has speeded up the approval of new licences. It’s still unclear, though, if there will be enough pot produced to meet demand not only in Ontario, but across the country.
Ontario’s cannabis stores will initially sell dried weed and oil, because those are the products the federal government has decided will be available first. The federal government has promised that edible cannabis products will be regulated later.
The popular edible products, from brownies to gummy bears, are now widely available illegally at pot shops and online.
The LCBO was chosen to control marijuana distribution and sales because it has a proven track record, expertise and operational abilities, said Sousa.
The stand-alone marijuana stores will be run by the LCBO, but they won’t resemble the average LCBO outlet.
Sales will be from behind the counter, similar to the way cigarettes are sold. Products won’t be visible to consumers. The approach is reminiscent of how liquor was sold in the province decades ago, when customers filled out a form with their order and a clerk went to the back room to retrieve the bottle.
It’s better to start with strong controls that may be eased over time, said Sousa.
The province will also abide by federal legislation that is expected to heavily restrict advertising of cannabis products.
Cannabis store staff will be trained to ensure they have “knowledge of the individual products and public health information about how to use cannabis responsibly,” according to a government release.
The province will work with municipalities to determine the location of stores, including such factors as proximity to schools.
Ontario will not bring illegal dispensaries into the plan, says Sousa. The province wants to send a strong signal that cannabis sales will be controlled by the government, he said.
Once legal cannabis stores open, consumers will have “an alternative source of supply,” said Sousa. He suggested some legal stores will deliberately be set up near illegal shops to compete.
jmiller@postmedia.com
twitter.com/JacquieAMiller
查看原文...
