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The regulatory framework for the sale will be tight, according to Quebec, which would have excluded the options of the SAQ, pharmacies and convenience stores
DENIS LESSARDTHE PRESS
QUÉBEC - It is the private company, with a tight regulatory framework, that in Quebec will be responsible for the sale of cannabis retail, once the legalization scheduled for July 2018 in force. After three meetings, the ministerial committee in charge of defining the game plan for this delicate operation has, in practice, eliminated the other options, learned La Presse .
The decision is not stopped, it will be said publicly, but the choice of "private framed" is "probable," said a source close to the ad hoc ministerial committee formed to prepare the legalization of July 2018. The introduction of a bill early in the fall of the National Assembly to ensure that it can be adopted before July 2018.
CONVENIENCE STORES AND PHARMACIES
The group chaired by the Minister for Public Health Lucie Charlebois has eliminated the hypothesis of entrusting the sale of recreational cannabis to convenience stores. A report by the Directorate of Public Health, at the end of 2016, already rejected the idea of giving the convenience stores the sale of the pot.
We want to be able to control the places where the product will be sold - no question of authorizing the sale near schools or approving a concentration of sellers in disadvantaged areas. The National Director of Public Health, Dr. Horacio Arruda, is a member of the committee and ensures that the orientations taken respect the objectives of his organization.
Another option was the current network of pharmacies. It soon became apparent that if these establishments could sell the therapeutic pot , it would be strange, or even "unnatural," to sell the recreational version of the product, since they can not sell tobacco, a product harmful to health .
WITHOUT THE SAQ
Since the beginning of the debate, Finance Minister Carlos Leitão has indicated that it is not a question of selling marijuana at the Société des alcools du Québec (SAQ) branches. Some have worked on a new marketing network, which would be under the SAQ's responsibility, but this option is discarded.
First, a member of the ministerial committee, Martin Coiteux is opposed to the establishment of any new state monopoly.
But above all, Quebec sees little benefit to pay for the establishment of a new public distribution network, especially if it were to share the market with the private sector and even the sale by mail, -we.
The private sector could nevertheless operate in parallel with a public network. The SAQ branches sell beer; The product is not reserved for grocery stores. In addition, video lottery terminals are found in bars, but also in gaming rooms, under the responsibility of Loto-Québec.
Quebec wants to frame the place where the sellers will settle, to prevent them from multiplying in disadvantaged neighborhoods, for example. Municipalities will have the power to determine the location of these businesses on their territory.
Quebec has already announced that it wants to get along with Ontario - the neighboring province used to rely heavily on its alcohol distribution network (LCBO) at the beginning, but seems more recently to see the same disadvantages as Quebec from the point of view of Of public health. Alcohol increases the effects of the drug.
18 YEARS OLD
Quebec is determined to set the legal age to purchase cannabis at 18, even though Ontario has set the age at which it is permitted to purchase alcohol and could be tempted to set the bar At the same level for the pot .
The committee has made little progress on public safety issues; However, it is known that the THC tests, the active ingredient of marijuana, from the saliva of drivers are still approximate, concludes. Furthermore, it is not clear how to manage the authorization, provided by Ottawa, for citizens to grow up to four cannabis plants for their personal use. The law provides that they will not measure more than one meter, but "who will go to measure? "Asks the Quebec committee.
THE DISPENSARY FORMULA?
In Quebec, the system of "dispensaries" set up by some American states, namely establishments specializing in the sale of pot controlled by the State , is carefully observed . These businesses should obtain very tightly controlled permits. "Private" does not necessarily mean profit, it is said elsewhere. Not-for-profit organizations could set up these businesses, but it is not certain that it is applicable everywhere.
Originally, Public Health had assumed that Quebec would have to control the production of recreational cannabis. The bill in the House of Commons specifies that the product must bear a stamp issued by Ottawa before it is marketed, such as tobacco.
The Quebec legislation will also be based on the tobacco legislation. Advertising and promotion of cannabis will therefore be prohibited.
We know that production will be private, licenses to producers will be issued by Ottawa. Distribution is the responsibility of the provinces, according to the federal bill. Last year, Public Health suggested that a government agency be created by Quebec to control distribution. In the committee, there is more emphasis on a scenario where sellers would source directly from licensed producers.
Anything upstream of the distribution falls under the responsibility of Ottawa. Another surprise for Quebec in the bill: the very clear opening to the sale of marijuana by the post. Québec must take account of this possibility of competition in the development of the point-of-sale framework, as well as in the determination of the selling price.
No pact in sight
Quebec does not see a pact in the sale of cannabis. We do not see this as a significant source of revenue, given Quebec's obligations in terms of prevention. It is estimated that the cost of producing the product is $ 7 to $ 8 per gram. It is sold around $ 10 on the market. We already understand that Ottawa is planning to take $ 1 in excise tax - the municipalities, Montreal and Quebec, have already claimed some of it. There is little room for specific fees once the provincial sales tax is applied. Fixing the price too high would not kill the black market, one of the main objectives of all this operation, it is explained.
- Denis Lessard, La Presse
