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WINNIPEG — Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister says retail sales of marijuana will be done exclusively through private retailers when recreational use of the drug is legalized next July.

Pallister announced Tuesday some of the major points of the province’s plan for marijuana sales, which he says is aimed at cutting into the black market and keeping cannabis away from kids.

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The government will maintain a wholesale monopoly, but private stores will sell the drug at a price they can set themselves.

Municipalities will have the right to ban marijuana stores if they want, cannabis will not be sold in the same stores as alcohol, and there will be private online sales as well.

The government is asking potential retailers to submit bids in the coming weeks, and says bids will be judged on storage security, distance from schools and more.

The Opposition NDP, as well as public-sector union leaders, have argued that sales should be done exclusively through government-run stores.