Canada’s market for recreational cannabis is worth an estimated $4 to 7 billion annually, depending on who you ask.

That makes the question of who controls and profits from the industry one many people are watching closely.

Under the Conservative government, those billions of dollars went to organized crime. Now, Canada has elected a Liberal government that has pledged to legalize and regulate cannabis sales. But how that occurs has yet to be decided.

Potential winners include pharmacies, liquor stores, and the government itself. There is also the more grassroots collection of activists who fought for marijuana reform, many of whom have raced to transition into legitimate sales via dispensaries like those that dot so many streets around Vancouver.

Today (December 16), a group of those storefront businesses fired a pre-emptive shot at the liquor industry.

In a media release, the Canadian Association of Medical Cannabis Dispensaries (CAMCD) argued its members are best-suited to handle marijuana sales.

“Dispensaries have 20 years of expertise in providing safe and dignified access to medical cannabis along with education on its use,” said CAMCD president Jamie Shaw quoted there. “It makes the most sense to utilize the existing distribution system to sell cannabis in a legalized context.”

The release notes several jurisdictions in Canada, such as Vancouver and Victoria, have already moved to regulate marijuana dispensaries. It also maintains marijuana is very different from alcohol and suggests liquor retailers lack skills and knowledge related to cannabis.

“It is not surprising that provincial and private liquor stores are interested in this newly emerging legal cannabis market, as no doubt are the pharmacies, we have seen this in other jurisdictions," said CAMCD vice-president Dana Larsen. “These retailers would have to make major changes to accommodate cannabis sales.”

CAMCD’s release is likely in response to a recent statement Ontario premier Kathleen Wynne made recently in support of liquor stores selling pot.

“It makes sense to me that the liquor distribution mechanism that we have in place — the LCBO — is very well-suited to putting in place the social responsibility aspects that would need to be in place,” she said on December 14.

Those comments followed B.C.’s private liquor-store owners announcing on December 2 that they are interested in selling marijuana.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has instructed the Ministry of Justice to consult with the country's provinces and municipalities to draft a plan to legalize marijuana. The government has not released a timeline or indicated how long that process might take.