National Post

Would you like a reefer with your rioja?

- Chri s Selley

Ontarians were seen staggering in the streets Monday afternoon, clutching their heads in a vain attempt to comprehend twin earthquake­s their premier, Kathleen Wynne, had unleashed upon their notoriousl­y change-averse province. Would you believe: marijuana … in liquor stores?

It could indeed happen. In a morning press conference with Toronto Mayor John Tory, Wynne suggested Justin Trudeau- approved pot might find a suitable retail home under the same roof as intoxicati­ng spirits, wine and beer — which is to say at Liquor Control Board of Ontario outlets.

“Using that distributi­on network at the LCBO, as has been talked about in other provinces using their provincial liquor distributi­ons, I think that makes a lot of sense,” said Wynne, breezily, as if she were proposing something other than outright revolution.

It’s not just the prospect of weed in liquor stores frying Ontarian minds, however. There’s also beer … in supermarke­ts.

Thankfully, the governing Liberals have been softening citizens up for some time on this dizzying proposal.

But Monday, with residents already reeling from the pot announceme­nt, they had to contemplat­e beer suddenly being sold in supermarke­ts the very next day. Without even a month’s notice!

Well, enough sarcasm. In fact, Wynne deserves some credit for what seems to be her government’s nascent pot policy — first and foremost, credit for having a pot policy. Even after the federal Liberals were elected on a promise of legalizati­on, too many provincial premiers and ministers were heard declining comment on the subject, suggesting they are waiting eagerly for federal direction.

That is not their usual modus operandi when there is jurisdicti­on to be entrenched and money to be made, you will agree. In the unlikely event Trudeau envisions a nationwide chain of federally run recreation­al marijuana dispensari­es, the premiers should be lining up to disabuse him of the idea.

Manitoba was first out of the gate: Premier Greg Selinger suggested last month his province’s liquor stores would be a logical choice for pot retail. Others have at least said they look forward to collaborat­ing with Ottawa. Last we heard from Quebec’s senior politician­s, however, Finance Minister Carlos Leitao was practicall­y giggling at the notion of legal weed in liquor stores. He and Public Safety Minister Lise Thériault struck a remarkably skeptical, if not outright prohibitio­nist pose.

If they or any of their provincial counterpar­ts disagree with legalizati­on altogether, they ought to say so. Hopefully, Wynne’s interventi­on will knock some others off the fence to declare their preference­s, because the more diverse input that goes into the legalizati­on scheme, the better and more respectful of local preference­s it is likely to be.

“Better” is in the eye of the beholder, needless to say. “Treat pot like alcohol” is logical enough a propositio­n, but it would be much less impeachabl­e if so many provinces didn’t treat booze so bizarrely, all these years after prohibitio­n’s repeal and American jurisdicti­ons’ systematic divestitur­e from the retail arm of the business.

Ontario, with its privately owned and politicall­y powerful beer quasimonop­oly, leads the pack in weirdness. And one might not too cynically observe that selling pot at the LCBO would please the public-sector unions — the one representi­ng LCBO workers had suggested it itself, funnily enough — whereas the beer- insupermar­kets plan did rather the opposite. And whatever the feds and the provinces come up with, people will be displeased.

U. S. states offer tantalizin­gly libertaria­n models, with their privately run stores and in some cases freedom to grow and share ( if not sell) your own plants.

Early evidence suggests human civilizati­on will not conclude as a result, and that these systems would work perfectly well in Canadian jurisdicti­ons as well. The same could be said of alcohol, too, though. And, well, here we are.

Arguably, the best way to legalize marijuana in Canada is to search for the word “cannabis” in federal statutes and obliterate each instance of it. But it is far more important police stop wasting time and money worrying about a relatively harmless substance and lumbering harmless nonviolent people with criminal records, and we afford people more latitude to alter their minds as they see fit, than it is to achieve logically coherent retail policies.

It is remarkable how quickly the narrative on legalizati­on has shifted from “pff, it’ ll never happen” to “hmm, how is this going to work?” It’s good news the people running Canada’s most populous province seem finally to have turned their minds to it.

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