The federal government has said it time and time again: marijuana legalization is meant to snuff out the black market and keep profits out of the hands of criminals.
To achieve that goal, the government has to grapple with a tough question: how much should legal weed cost?
We now know that the provinces will be responsible for setting the price of legal marijuana. In its November 2016 report, the federal Task Force on Cannabis Legalization and Regulation explained why pricing will be a tricky balancing act.
“Taxes should be high enough to limit the growth of consumption, but low enough to compete effectively with the illicit market,” wrote the task force. “Mechanisms such as a minimum price should be used to prevent predatory pricing, if necessary.”
Solomon Israel – CBC News – Apr 01, 2017.