Comment: As for pot, and the creation of the MCBO, the author seems to forget that the existing free-market distribution system is dominated by players who are (a) unlikely to roll over and give up their market share and profits voluntarily; and (b) are accustomed to using intimidation and physical violence to maintain their market share.
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The Globe itself ran a long feature piece on the practical realities of the impossibility of driving organised crime out of the pot business.
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So that makes pot a bit different from just any other product sold in an open market.  Remember that when the LCBO started, organised crime was deeply entrenched in the liquor business, too.
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The proper role of government in a market economy is to address market failures.  MCBO may not be a perfect solution, but a Crown Corporation backed up by the police might have a better chance at displacing the existing market dominating players.
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The author does not address that profoundly market-distorting point.