MONTREAL—The Quebec government wants to maintain strict controls over retail sales of marijuana when the drug is legalized by Ottawa in July 2018. The province’s public health minister Lucie Charlebois tabled legislation Thursday morning that would create a subsidiary of the Quebec liquor board to handle the exclusive distribution and sale of pot through retail stores and online. “We would have liked to have more time … but we have no option to be ready,” Charlebois told reporters in Quebec City. The bill also includes a zero-tolerance approach for drivers whose saliva tests positive for cannabis or other drugs, a prohibition on promotion or advertising of cannabis products and severe restrictions on those who want to consume marijuana in public. The Quebec government’s stated goal in tabling the legislation is: “to integrate consumers into, and maintain them in, the legal market without encouraging cannabis consumption.”

Source: thestar November 16, 2017 18:22 UTC