Ontario's premier Kathleen Wynne was on hand at a Toronto supermarket this week to buy a small case of beer, the first to be sold in grocery stores in the province. At the same time, she is also being criticized for a comment she made about Ontario government liquor stores being the best place to one day sell legal marijuana.
Recreational marijuana use is now legal in five U.S. jurisdictions and may soon be coming to Canada.
The federal Liberal party, now in government in Ottawa, promised to legalize marijuana when it was an opposition party. Officials have now said their first step will be to set up a federal-provincial task force that will hear input from public health, substance abuse and public safety experts.
The Liquor Control Board of Ontario, also known as the LCBO, has 650 stores and a virtual monopoly on liquor sales across the province. Wynne this week said the LCBO stores could sell marijuana if and when it is legal to do so.
"It makes sense to me that the liquor distribution mechanism that we have in place, the LCBO, is very well suited to putting in place the social responsibility aspects that would need to be in place. Obviously I don't what the timeline is with the federal government, but it's seems to me that using that distribution network makes a lot of sense," Wynne said.
The Ontario Public Service Employees Union says marijuana should be sold at LCBO stores once it is legalized. The union says there does need to be a strong regulatory framework in place, including a minimum age limit, a ban on marketing and plans to prevent cannabis-impaired driving.
But opposition Conservatives in Ottawa want the federal government to take a go-slow approach. They say selling pot in government-run liquor stores won't keep it out of the hands of children.