Why should liquor control boards manage weed sales? They already know how

Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne said the provincial liquor control board is the best way to sell pot. Manitoba Premier Greg Selinger made the same comment three weeks earlier. Ontario and B.C.’s government employees union have also called for it to be sold through existing liquor retailers.

Some may ask what they’ve been smoking, but based on why we got these boards in the first place, the premiers have a good case. Are liquor boards the best way to distribute cannabis? Yes, and here’s why: Liquor control boards were created so provinces could manage the legalization of another recreational drug, alcohol.

When Prohibition gripped Canada a century ago, liquor was used medicinally as well as recreationally. But many saw it as a terrible social danger. Under Prohibition (which most provinces implemented during the First World War), to consume alcohol non-medically was to consort with criminals. This led to problems such as...

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