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On Friday, the Ontario Liberal government announced its detailed plan to sell and distribute recreational marijuana in anticipation of the federal government’s legalization plans next summer. The province plans to set up as many as 150 dedicated store fronts across the province by 2020, with the shops being operated by the Liquor Control Board of Ontario.

Those looking to buy will be subject to the same regulations and restrictions that apply to alcohol purchase and consumption; buyers must be 19 or older and consumption is permitted only in private residences. The first 40 stores will be opened next summer, around the same time Ontario introduces online marijuana sales.

There are estimated to be about 80 dispensaries operating in the city of Toronto. Meanwhile, a Postmedia report from 2016 noted there were roughly 75 dispensaries operating in Vancouver at the time, but that number, like much of the multi-million-dollar marijuana industry in B.C., continues to fluctuate and grow.

“I’m glad we’re having the discussion and moving forward on that but the whole system from the federal government down is not going to work and is going to require a big revamp as they move forward,” said Larsen.

While B.C. has yet to announce its own approach, the City of Vancouver has made moves to regulate private dispensaries, setting up its own regulatory framework and working its way through a long list of dispensaries that have applied for licences.

The federal government introduced legislation in April with a goal of legalizing and regulating the use of recreational pot by July 1, 2018, but left it up to individual provinces to design their own distribution system and usage regulations.

–with files from the Canadian Press

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