It’s been well over a month since Ontario’s Liberal government unveiled plans to regulate the distribution and consumption of recreational cannabis once it becomes legal by next summer. While the province’s main opposition parties have been quick to condemn the proposal as half-baked and inadequate, they still haven’t offered alternatives.
Both the Progressive Conservatives and the NDP told VICE News they have no plans yet to take on the marijuana issue in their campaigns ahead of the provincial election next year.
A lack of organized pushback against the Liberal proposal is leaving experts puzzled, and throws cold water on hopes held by many dispensary owners that opposition leaders will champion their calls to be included in the future market.
RELATED: Canadian Cannabis News
The Liberal plan would, in short, give the provincial liquor control board power over new standalone cannabis storefronts and restrict consumption of the drug to private residences. Ontario’s Ministry of the Attorney General has vowed to wipe out hundreds of illegal dispensaries operating across the province in the meantime—although it hasn’t yet explained how. A formal bill on the matter is expected to be tabled in the Ontario legislature in the coming months.
As Canada’s most populous province, regulations in Ontario could influence decisions nationwide for how the marijuana supply is managed and distributed.
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