Ontario has 'made no decisions' on how it will sell marijuana

Ontario's governmenthasyet to decide how or where legalized recreational marijuana will be sold in the province, although Ottawa plans to give the provinces control over distribution.

CBC News revealed on Sunday that the federal government is preparingto bring in legislation soon to decriminalize pot by July 2018.

• CBC EXCLUSIVE: Liberals to announce marijuana will be legal by July 1, 2018
• When marijuana becomes legal, what does that mean for Toronto?

CBC News has also learned that provincial governments will havethe power to set theprice of marijuana, to decide how itis distributed, and to set the age limit for purchasers, which must be a minimumof18.

At Queen's Park on Monday, cabinet ministers were peppered with questions from reporters about the pot sales regime in Ontario, but offered nothing definitive.

"All those policy options are on the table," said Attorney General Yasir Naqvi, when asked about age limits and sales locations. "We have not made any decisions."

He said nothing has been ruled out in terms of potential sales locations, including the government-run LCBOliquor stores, pharmacies, or private pot shops.

The government is doing "very detailed analysis of all policy options," said Naqvi, with an emphasis on protectingyouth, public health, road safety, and harm reduction.

Finance Minister Charles Sousapromised decisions will be announced "when the time is right" after the federal Liberals have put forward their legislation.

• Legal marijuana could raise federal cash

"We want to protect children, we want to protect the public, we want to ensure that we curb crime," Sousatold reporters on Monday. "We'll assess what the otherprovinces are doing as well and determine how best to proceed."

Premier Kathleen Wynne has indicated she thinks selling marijuana through the LCBO's distribution network "makes a lot of sense."

But a federal task force has recommended against selling marijuana in the same location as alcohol. It is unclear whether the provincial governmentaccepts that recommendation, although Sousa said the government is taking it to heart.

'Highly unlikely' LCBOs will sell pot: analyst

The legislation will be announced during the week of April 10 and will broadly follow the recommendations of the task force, whichwas chaired by former liberal Justice Minister AnneMcLellan, CBC News has learned.

An independent policy expert says a provincial Crown corporation will no doubt be heavily involved in regulating the sale of marijuana, but don't expect to be able to buy pot in liquor stores.

• How other jurisdictions overturned their pot prohibitions

"Ithinkit's highly unlikely that we'll ever see a scenario where cannabis is sold in aretail setting side-by-side next to alcohol," saidOmarKhan, vice president of public affairs with Hill andKnowltonStrategies Canada.

In an interview with CBC NewsonMonday, Khan said revenue is not goingto driveOntario's policy on pot distribution.

"I don't think that anybody expects this, at least in the early stages, to be a huge cash cow for government,"said Khan, who previously served as chief of staff to an Ontariohealth minister and attorney general. "The main objective is going to be to take this out of the hands of organized crime and to ensure that minors and others who shouldn't be accessing this don't have access to it."

At least 10 provincial ministers are involved in a working group that's trying to establish how legalization will affect the province and what Ontario's marijuana policies should be.

• Marijuana legislation to leave provinces in charge of sales rules

"I have grave concerns about the impact on road safety," said Transportation Minister Steven Del Ducaon Monday.

He said police forces are still unable to conduct accurate roadside tests for drug-impaired driving.

"We are still working with a number of partners on the technology," Del Ducatold reporters. "We've been calling on the feds over the last number of months to develop a system that's reliable."