B.C. to treat sale of pot like liquor
Marijuana to be sold in both public, private stores, but you’ll have to be 19 to buy it
When recreational marijuana becomes legal next summer, it will be sold in both private and public stores to people 19 years of age and older, the provincial government announced Tuesday.
The minimum age was set to “protect young people and eliminate the black market,” Solicitor General Mike Farnworth said.
“We know the largest consumers of cannabis are young people in that 19 to 30 age group,” he said. “If you set it too high, you’re not going to get rid of the black market because they’re going to go and get it elsewhere.”
Details of the retail model for cannabis will not be revealed until late January or early February.
The federal government intends to legalize non-medical cannabis in July. B.C.’s announcement follows a public consultation period that received submissions from nearly 50,000 residents and 141 local and Indigenous governments.
The B.C. Liberals pressed the government to act quickly on the questions that remain about how pot will be sold and where.
“This should not be seen as a profit centre for government, and any extra revenue should be redirected to enforcement and addiction services,” Liberal legislature member Mike Morris said in a statement.
Farnworth released few details about retail sales, beyond saying both public and private vendors will be allowed. He was unable to comment on online sales.
Farnworth would not comment on potential requirements for people pursuing private retail operations, nor if people currently operating illegal pot shops will be allowed to enter the legal market or how licences for pot shops will be distributed.
“What I can tell you is whatever model is in place . . . anybody operating within that retail framework will be abiding by the laws of Canada and British Columbia,” he said. “There will be no room for the black market.”
Farnworth did say local governments will be consulted while forming the retail model.
“Their views are important because they’re the ones who are going to have to deal with legalization on the ground in their communities,” he said. “They’re going to be very much involved in the development of the retail model.”
B.C.’s Liquor Distribution Branch will be responsible for the wholesale distribution of non-medical marijuana.
“The LDB has expertise in the wholesaling and distribution of product, in this case alcohol,” said Farnworth.
Cannabis will likely not be in the same warehouse as liquor, he said.
“They are two different products that require different handling and different procedures and practices to deal with.”
The provincial government is not revealing estimated revenue from cannabis sales and has not included cannabis revenue in its upcoming budget.
“I’m not looking at it from a revenue-generating perspective,” said Farnworth. “Down the road I’m sure it will be, (but) right now there are a lot of upfront costs that will have to be dealt with.”
Farnworth said he would like to see a uniform cannabis tax across Canada to avoid black market issues.
Before the July 2018 legalization of non-medical marijuana, 18 pieces of legislation in B.C. either need to be amended or introduced, said Farnworth.
“I expect a great deal of the legislative calendar to be taken up by the legalization of cannabis in the spring,” he said. “There will be a lot of work between now and then to make sure we are ready, because it is a tight timeline.”
Work also remains to be done on whether people will be allowed to grow plants at home for personal use, a practice that has been banned by Manitoba over concerns about enforcement. Manitoba also released its plans for overseeing marijuana sales on Tuesday.
B.C.’s public consultation produced a report that was released alongside its announcement Tuesday. It revealed polarized views on drug-impaired driving, showing that some want zero tolerance while others said cannabis doesn’t impact the ability to drive.
The report also says there was some confusion among consultation participants on the distribution and retails sales of marijuana, but many opposed Ontario’s model. Ontario intends to sell the drug in up to 150 stores run by the Liquor Control Board of Ontario and ban consumption in public spaces or workplaces.
“Most of these individuals preferred to see the existing dispensaries and their supply chain legitimized, licensed and regulated,” the report says.
It also says two points emerged on public consumption: People don’t want to be subjected to second-hand smoke in public places and they want cannabis consumption limited to indoor use at a private residence or a designated space.