Published on Tue Dec 15 2015

MONTREAL—It’s still a long way off, but the federal government’s promise to legalize marijuana for recreational use in Canada has sparked a torrid debate about how and where to sell it.

Convenience stores across the country already sell government-regulated lottery tickets, cigarettes and, in some provinces, beer and wine. But since the end of alcohol prohibition laws in the 1920s, liquor stores have been that clear, well-lighted place Canadians have come to rely on for their purchases of alcohol.

Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne, Manitoba Premier Greg Sellinger and the unions representing the LCBO and Quebec’s Société des alcools du Québec (SAQ) are all now advocating that provincially run liquor stores be allowed to expand their mandates and inventory to include the many strains and vintages of marijuana.

On Tuesday, federal Health Minister Jane Philpott applauded Queen’s Park for getting involved in the debate, even if it will be some time before a bag of weed can be purchased alongside a bottle of wine.

Link: http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2015/12/15/should-provincial-liquor-stores-serve-as-neighbourhood-pot-dealers.html