Justin Trudeau picks Bill Blair to lead marijuana legalization reform

OTTAWA—MP Bill Blair, the former Toronto police chief now leading the Trudeau government’s marijuana legalization project, says provincial liquor stores may be the most reasonable place from which to control legal cannabis sales because of the ability to restrict youth access to the drug.

Blair, as parliamentary secretary to Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould, has been asked to craft the government’s policy, working with a three-member cabinet team and a federal-provincial-territorial task force that hasn’t yet been struck, the justice minister’s office said.

Blair defended the Liberal plan from a public safety perspective on Friday while acknowledging that the government has “some work to do” to address public concerns.

He wouldn’t speculate how long it would take to conduct “wide consultations” with public health, law enforcement and provincial and territorial counterparts before a bill is drafted. But Blair said the federal government is looking at the experience in Colorado, Washington...

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