The Globe and Mail reports in its Saturday edition that Gerald Butts, a key architect of the Trudeau government's marijuana policy, tweeted recently that "legal cannabis has wiped out half the black market in a year, just as it was designed to do." The Globe's Rita Trichur writes that Mr. Butts also took a swipe at Ontario's Progressive Conservative government by adding, "This happened despite chronic implementation problems in a province that begins and ends with the letter O."
The federal government's own data, however, show that more Canadians are buying marijuana on the black market because legalization has not lived up to the hype. Not only is it significantly cheaper to buy contraband cannabis, consumers tell Statistics Canada that unlicensed dealers often sell superior products that offer them a better high.
There is no doubt that Ontario has botched its retail rollout, but with a general election looming, federal Liberals are eager to shirk their share of the blame for the problems that have plagued legalization. High prices, supply shortages and a convoluted compliance regime for legal players have been nothing short of a boon to black-market dealers.
The Liberals are telling voters a different story.
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