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Surely there will be many Ontarians who will see the move as simply the province’s crude way of bolstering the LBCO’s monopoly. And that may be true, but we shouldn’t discount the possibility of a foreign-owned conglomerate swooping in, offering mammoth political donations to the Liberals and securing exclusive contracts to sell specialized strains of marijuana at stand-alone shops called “The Weed Store” — or something like that.

The LCBO, unlike independent dispensaries, is also confined by the province’s commitment to so-called “social responsibility,” which means that it must at once encourage and discourage the sale of its products. In practice, that necessitates limited operating hours and responsible drinking campaigns, as well as glossy magazines about the tastiest cocktails for patio season and radio advertisements reminding Ontarians about the only place they can buy spirits in the province.

This contradiction could apply equally well to marijuana sales, which surely won’t be offered past 6 p.m. on Sundays and most weeknights beyond 9 p.m., in order to deter over-consumption, but will, at the same time, come with shiny recipe books offering step-by-step instructions on how to make marijuana brownies. It is still unclear at this time, however, how the province will reconcile its commitment to social responsibility with selling of marijuana and alcohol in the same place — substances that can have disastrous consequences when combined — but perhaps it will separate the substances by checkout counters, as is required in the limited number of Ontario grocery stores that may sell beer and wine, and deem the province’s commitment to “social responsibility” fulfilled.