The Times Colonist is reporting that "New Brunswick says it has become the first province to fully secure its supply of recreational marijuana. It announced a memorandum of understanding with Zenabis to provide four million grams (4,000 kilos or 4 tons) of cannabis and derivative products with a retail value of about $40 million." Zenabis is located in Atholville, NB and Delta, BC.
"The Zenabis deal is expected to create about 450 jobs over the next two years in the village of Atholville." The "location in Delta, B.C., which will be growing 4,000 kilograms of marijuana and sending it back east every year as part of the new deal."
The next question is what about the free market? That is what Marc and Jodie Emery are pushing for. Free market pot is like generic drugs. Everyone hates pharmaceutical monopolies. The NDP government has been big on generic medicine to break the monopolies and provide affordable medicine. Time will tell if they apply that to free market pot in BC.
Although I did not vote for the legalization of pot and prefered the decriminalization of pot, now that it is being legalized I support free market pot. You can't legalize pot then say only the big pharmaceutical companies can grow it. That's like saying your not allowed to grow tobacco or tomatoes if you want to. It's absurd. If the Hells Angels want to grow and sell legal pot let them. Just dont let them have a monopoly on the market. Let anyone grow it. Supply and Demand yo.
the free market approach you suggest opens it up to the Hell's angels and any other criminal organization. "free market" isn't going to work if you want to keep organized crime out of it. I'm sure the EMeries will make enough money elsewhere.
ReplyDeleteThe free market will not keep the Hells Angels out but who cars? If the Hells Angels want to make money from selling bananas, tomatoes or potatoes, who cares let them. If they can make money in legitimate businesses there will be less people dying.
DeleteAnything other than free market is Communism and I cannot support it. When the pharmaceutical companies have a monopoly the prices are inflated and organized crime will under cut them just like with cigarettes back east.