As the legalization of recreational cannabis becomes more and more likely in Canada, a task force in Ontario is trying to determine if the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) will be the sole distributor of recreational cannabis in Ontario. According to The Toronto Star, Premier Kathleen Wynne stated, “We have the LCBO in place (and) I think that we’ve demonstrated that that kind of regulation is efficient and is effective.”

However, a recent poll by The Forum Poll indicated that voters in Ontario do not wish to have the LCBO sell cannabis. Instead, over one-third of the polled voters stated they would prefer to have cannabis sold in pharmacies and a little more than one-quarter preferred it sold in dispensaries.

Fifty percent of voters who were polled stated they thought it would be inappropriate to sell cannabis and alcohol in the same place, which would happen if the LCBO took over cannabis sales. Voters were also split when it came to whether or not they believed home cultivation of cannabis should be permitted.

The Canadian government believes the LCBO is the best place to sell cannabis, but only about half of the polled voters in Canada believe it would be appropriate. As one of the largest buyers and retailers of alcoholic beverages in the world, the LCBO awaits the upcoming decision, as the government continues to weigh out its many options.

Finance Minister Charles Sousa stated, “It is early and it’s not really clear yet how it will unfold and what options we’ll use. There’s a lot of options that are being made available that are being examined and all of them have implications.”

Genevieve Tomney, a LCBO spokeswoman, stated to The Toronto Star, “Should decriminalization of recreational marijuana occur at the federal level, LCBO would take direction from the provincial government as to any role it may have in retailing cannabis.”