It doesn’t sound like Premier John Horgan wants to follow Ontario’s lead and only allow marijuana to be sold in government-controlled locations like liquor stores.
LISTEN: Premier John Horgan talks pot with CKNW’s Jon McComb
Speaking on CKNW’s The Jon McComb Show on Monday, Horgan says Ontario’s approach is just one way to go.
“There’s also, I think…the dispensaries have proven to be an effective way to attracting attention. There’s also pharmacies as well for those who are focused explicitly on medicinal marijuana. I think there’s a range of options. We’re going to look at all of them. My sense…at the start of this discussion is that any one of those individually or together is going to be an appropriate response.”
Horgan says the key is to kill the black market.
“You’ve heard people say this is a great windfall of tax revenue. It’s not been the case in Washington and Oregon. If you set the price too high, then the black market continues to exist and the regulation won’t matter. It’s a plant after all. People are growing plants in their basement right now or in their backyard.”
Last Friday the Ontario government announced the sale of marijuana will be restricted to those 19 years of age and older, and will only be sold in 150 stores run by the Liquor Control Board of Ontario.
The federal government plans on legalizing the recreational use of marijuana by July 1, 2018 and says it will be up to the provinces to decide their distribution systems.
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