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"Communities need a real choice. A responsible choice. A choice like the LCBO." — Warren (Smokey) Thomas, OPSEU President
Toronto (12 Oct. 2018) — A new poll shows that the people of Ontario are worried about what will happen when cannabis becomes legal on October 17. Will our kids and grandkids get hurt? Will our communities be safe?
OPSEU/NUPGE focuses on safety in cannabis plan
To help ensure kids and communities stay safe, the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU/NUPGE) has launched a campaign called A Responsible Plan.
"The problem is Doug Ford's reckless and risky scheme to privatize cannabis sales," said Warren (Smokey) Thomas, OPSEU President.
"Drugs like cannabis and alcohol can do an incredible amount of damage when they're not sold safely and responsibly. That's why we need a responsible plan to sell legal cannabis through the publicly owned and managed LCBO," Thomas said.
"The LCBO is tried, tested and true when it comes to responsible sales and revenue generation."
Municipal election the time to press for public cannabis stores
With municipal elections happening across the province on October 22, the Responsible Plan campaign is designed to make private cannabis sales an election issue.
The campaign gives people the opportunity to send all their candidates an email encouring the municipality to demand the option of having public cannabis stores in their community.
"Communities can opt-out of having a private cannabis store, but choosing between the private sector and the black market is no choice at all," said Thomas. "Communities need a real choice. A responsible choice. A choice like the LCBO."