Pubdate: Wed, 22 Jun 2016
Source: National Post (Canada)
Page: A9
Copyright: 2016 Canwest Publishing Inc.
Contact: http://drugsense.org/url/wEtbT4yU
Website: http://www.nationalpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/286
Author: Robyn Urback

PLEASE SMOKE RESPONSIBLY

Ontario's government has long teased the idea that, if and when 
marijuana becomes legal, its sale will fall under the purview of the 
Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO). For a while, the suggestion 
seemed little more than a hazy, off-the-cuff submission - something 
Premier Kathleen Wynne would say to reporters who insisted on asking 
her about pot during press conferences about transit expansion and 
the now-deceased Ontario Retirement Pension Plan. But if we decode 
the careful insinuations offered by Ontario Finance Minister Charles 
Sousa in a recent interview with the Toronto Star, it becomes clear 
that the province is actually moving forward with its plans to expand 
the selection of products currently offered at the provincial liquor monopoly.

Sousa didn't actually come out and say as much, but in regards to 
storefront dispensaries, he said: "I, at least, don't see that being 
the distribution mechanism. It's going to have to be controlled." 
Both Premier Wynne and Smokey Thomas, president of the Ontario Public 
Service Employees Union (which, coincidentally, represents LCBO 
workers), have both echoed that sentiment, noting that the LCBO 
already has experience keeping alcohol out of the hands of children.

Surely there will be many Ontarians who will see the move as simply 
the province's crude way of bolstering the LBCO's monopoly. And that 
may be true, but we shouldn't discount the possibility of a 
foreign-owned conglomerate swooping in, offering mammoth political 
donations to the Liberals and securing exclusive contracts to sell 
specialized strains of marijuana at stand-alone shops called "The 
Weed Store" - or something like that.

The LCBO, unlike independent dispensaries, is also confined by the 
province's commitment to so-called "social responsibility," which 
means that it must at once encourage and discourage the sale of its 
products. In practice, that necessitates limited operating hours and 
responsible drinking campaigns, as well as glossy magazines about the 
tastiest cocktails for patio season and radio advertisements 
reminding Ontarians about the only place they can buy spirits in the province.

This contradiction could apply equally well to marijuana sales, which 
surely won't be offered past 6 p.m. on Sundays and most weeknights 
beyond 9 p.m., in order to deter over-consumption, but will, at the 
same time, come with shiny recipe books offering step-by-step 
instructions on how to make marijuana brownies. It is still unclear 
at this time, however, how the province will reconcile its commitment 
to social responsibility with selling of marijuana and alcohol in the 
same place - substances that can have disastrous consequences when 
combined - but perhaps it will separate the substances by checkout 
counters, as is required in the limited number of Ontario grocery 
stores that may sell beer and wine, and deem the province's 
commitment to "social responsibility" fulfilled.

It goes without saying that the government stands to benefit most by 
granting itself the exclusive right to sell marijuana in Ontario, but 
we shouldn't forget about the province's many underground marijuana 
purveyors, who would surely welcome very limited competition by the 
LCBO. Indeed, the province is almost certain to inflate prices so 
dramatically that the change should hardly interfere at all with the 
flourishing black market, which will probably include independent 
dispensary owners who have been, or will be, forced to shut down. Pot 
dealers can therefore rest assured that they will remain largely 
unchallenged when it comes to price and accessibility, and only lag 
behind in terms of advertising capabilities and glossy magazine distribution.

In the meantime, it's important that Ontario's government spends the 
next few months studying the successful systems of marijuana retail 
sales in states such as Colorado and Washington - which allow 
independent shops to sell marijuana for recreational use - so that 
they can promptly ignore what they've learned and go with a 
LCBO-centred system instead. The Liberals can also take comfort in 
knowing that, should they find themselves in a particularly 
uncomfortable situation sometime in the future, they can always 
announce pot sales in grocery stores to distract from the scandal 
until things blow over: but only until 5 p.m., and only at the 
checkout counters with the longest lines. Please smoke responsibly.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom