Wynne worried about weed shops popping up

Premier Kathleen Wynne is concerned about the explosion of unlicensed marijuana “dispensaries” opening up across the province.

Thestar.com
May 11, 2016
By Robert Benzie

Premier Kathleen Wynne is concerned about the explosion of unlicensed marijuana “dispensaries” opening up across the province.

With more than 90 of the illegal storefronts already up and running in Toronto alone, Wynne said operators are exploiting the fact that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is moving forward with legalization next year.

“We’re in a tricky grey area right now, because we know that the federal government is going to be moving forward with legislation, but there hasn’t been that discussion,” the premier said Wednesday.

“That’s the challenge because some of these dispensaries have set up and they’re being set up, as I understand it in the context of medical marijuana,” she said.

“But I think that’s the question, exactly what is the line between medical marijuana and recreational marijuana.”

Former Toronto police chief Bill Blair, now the Liberal MP for Scarborough Southwest, is Trudeau’s point man on modernizing Canada’s cannabis laws.

Once Ottawa puts in place new federal regulations, the provinces and municipalities can then implement their own rules.

While medicinal marijuana is legal, it is supposed to only be available with a prescription from a medical doctor and then supplied by a producer licensed by Health Canada via registered mail.
There are 31 licensed producers in the country - 18 in Ontario - and Canada Post delivers prescription marijuana directly to patients, not through shops.

According to Health Canada, “only producers who are authorized to produce and sell to the public may sell or provide dried marijuana, fresh marijuana or cannabis oil to eligible persons.”

“We haven’t had that discussion about the difference between medical marijuana and recreational marijuana. There are rules in place around medical marijuana, but we don’t have the same kind of rules in place on recreational marijuana. That’s the conversation that has to happen,” said Wynne.

Along with the Ontario Public Service Employee Union, the premier has suggested legalized recreational marijuana should be sold - like alcohol - at LCBO stores to keep it out of the hands of minors.

Asked if she were worried organized crime syndicates would simply move from street-level drug dealing into storefront operations, Wynne acknowledged that’s a worry.

“The whole reason to legalize and move in this direction is to put a legal structure around marijuana and we’re just not clear at this point, we’re just not sure exactly what that structure is going to look like,” she said.

“That’s what needs to happen. Now we need to figure out what is the regulation around recreational marijuana. That’s why I put forward the notion of the LCBO.”

Progressive Conservative Leader Patrick Brown agreed that “it’s important to see the federal recommendations” before the province can take action.

“It’s a grey zone. Let the federal government do their work and see where they land. They’ll have, obviously, different regulations for medical use and recreational use,” said Brown.

“Obviously there was a public mandate in Justin Trudeau’s election, where people understand it’s going to be legalized and - on the cusp of that - people are ... heeding what they think is going to come,” he said.

That’s a reference to why Toronto police has been so reluctant to lay any charges against dispensary operators.

“The sooner that Bill Blair’s committee does their work, the sooner that the government comes out with some clarity on this, it will be very helpful,” said Brown.

Toronto Mayor John Tory has also spoken out about eruption of weed shops in the city and the need to regulate them even before the federal laws are amended.

“The notion that these can spread like wildfire across the city and that they can be done in a completely unregulated manner ... is just not the right way to go about this,” Tory said Monday after touring some of the “dispensaries” in Kensington Market.

“If there are others who are not going to take action, then we might have to in order to bring some semblance of control to it.”