i'm far from a market advocate. it's not the point.

if ford is smart, he'll tone the "free market" rhetoric down, because it's going to alienate people that otherwise agree with the crux of further liberalizing access.

i mean, we have an lcbo monopoly, but we don't have access problems to alcohol. the issue is less who and more how.

the reality is that liberals' legalization plan is designed to restrict access, not to liberalize it. it's as close as a continuation of prohibition as they could have gotten way with - it's really just a step away from restricting sales to the internet. and, the hurdles to get pot in the store (including having to sit through an anti-drug lecture - not joking) are so outrageous that online purchase could very well be preferable to most people.

nobody voted for that kind of nonsense. and, even a strict fiscal conservative is just going to interpret it as a waste of money.

they could have just sold it at liquor stores. they could have let bartenders sell it. they could have done a million things differently - but they took the most conservative approach possible.

and, i worried about this.

it's going to backfire. the question is how badly, and how well the ndp can help mitigate.