One of Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s more useful acts of legislative heresy was his early-days decision to scrap the previous government’s plans for state-run brick-and-mortar cannabis shops, and instead punt retail into the private sector: The government has a monopoly on wholesale and online sales, but beyond that, Ontario’s weed market is one of the most open in the country.
But those certainly haven’t stopped pot shops from proliferating.
But, according to the weed spot-pricing outfit Cannabis Benchmarks , legal options are significantly cheaper in Ontario than illegal ones.
If Fred and Mabel’s Smoke Shack gets forced out by big-money players like Tokyo Smoke or Spiritleaf — which are owned by Nasdaq-listed cannabis producers Canopy Growth and Sundial Growers, respectively — that’s sad for Fred and Mabel, but hardly unique in modern retail.
Many thus essentially wall themselves off from the street, like a saloon in the 1950s, which is definitely not good for a neighbourhood’s overall feel.
In 2012, City Council slapped a moratorium on new bars, food-service establishments and other “places of amusement” in the west-end Parkdale neighbourhood because — as the local councillor explained — the “sidewalks are jammed every Friday night at 1 a.m.” That’s what counts as a crisis in this often-ridiculous town.
One of the reasons privatized weed retail wasn’t very controversial is likely because the previous Liberal government significantly expanded beer and wine retail to hundreds of supermarkets, and the world did not end.
In a decade or three, Canada’s surprisingly enthusiastic embrace of legalized cannabis might just help make this province a little less weird, and a little more free.
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