Ontario plans to begin licensing some private retailers to sell marijuana as early as next April but Attorney General Caroline Mulroney says that her government has no plans to permit dispensaries that have been flouting existing laws to participate in the legal market.
Mulroney sat down with CP24 for a one-on-one interview on Tuesday morning, less than 24 hours after the Progressive Conservative government unveiled its plans for the legalization of marijuana on Oct. 17.
Those plans include online sales through the provincially-run Ontario Cannabis Store as of Oct. 17 and then sales in private retail stores, beginning in April.
Mulroney said that while her government hasn’t “made any determinations” about which private establishments will be permitted to sell marijuana and what licensing criteria will exist, she said that dispensaries that have been operating illegally will be excluded.
“Those places are operating illegally and we were very clear yesterday that they need to stop. The government doesn’t want to be doing businesses with dispensaries that have been operating illegally. We have been very clear,” she said.
Dozens of marijuana dispensaries have opened up across the city since the federal Liberal government announced its plans to legalize marijuana, though because the dispensaries have been operating outside of current laws many of them have been repeatedly raided by Toronto police.
Speaking with CP24 on Tuesday, marijuana activist and self-proclaimed ‘Prince of Pot’ Marc Emery said that the government shouldn’t be standing in the way of anyone from selling the drug so long as they are doing so in a responsible manner.
Back in December, Emery and his wife pleaded guilty to a number of drug-related charges related to the operation of dispensaries in the city and were fined $195,000 each.
“I had my shop on Church Street for seven months. I sold to 2,000 people a day, it was the busiest marijuana shop in the world and I was right beside a school for children. They weren’t allowed in my store, they couldn’t see in my store and they weren’t even interested. I carded everyone who needed to be carded and I tested all of my marijuana and it was safe,” he said.
Mulroney told CP24 that illegal dispensaries will continue to face “strict penalties and escalating sanctions” following the legalization of marijuana but Emery said that he doubts anyone will be convicted for selling marijuana after Oct. 17.
He said that Ontario could easily support 1,500 to 2,000 brick-and-mortar marijuana stores and suggested that the government just needs to get out of the way.
“You can’t have this discriminatory regime where you are allowed to sell it but you are not, government weed is legal but your weed is illegal. That is all crazy. That stuff shouldn’t exist in any sort of serious democracy and free society,” he said.
Extensive consultations are planned
The previous Liberal government had planned to sell legal marijuana both online and in government-run brick-and-mortar establishments but those plans have now been altered in favour of a privatized retail model for physical sales.
Mulroney conceded that the plan is a “significant departure” from the approach of the former Liberal government but she said that it better suits the priorities of the PC government. She said that the idea is that “giving people an opportunity to participate in the legal market,” will mean fewer people will choose to participate in the illegal market.
As for which establishments will ultimately be permitted to sell marijuana, Mulroney said that will be the subject of extensive consultation in the coming months.
“We don’t want to make those decisions alone in a vacuum. We want to build on what other provinces who are pursuing this approach are doing,” she said. “Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba are all pursuing a private retail model. We want to talk to them and we want to talk to businesses, municipalities and indigenous communities as well.”
