Latest news with #Liquor
Time of India
7 hours ago
- Business
- Time of India
After Ladki Bahin scheme, Maharashtra hikes liquor duties to ease cash crunch
Live Events (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel Amid cash crunch, the Maharashtra government has decided to hike excise duty of Indian-made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) from three times to 4.5 times of the declared manufacturing cost (up to ₹260 per bulk litre). The state Cabinet has also decided to increase duty on country liquor from ₹180 to ₹205 per proof state has introduced a new category of grain-based Maharashtra-made Liquor (MML), which will be produced by local manufacturers but will require new state has also revised minimum retail prices for 180 ml bottles - country liquor will now cost ₹80 (₹70 earlier), MML will cost ₹148 and IMFL ₹205. Premium foreign liquor will cost ₹360 (₹210 earlier).The duty hikes will help the state government earn ₹14,000 crore more annually. Maharashtra has been facing a cash crunch due to payout schemes, such as the Ladki Bahin Yojana where eligible women are paid ₹1,500 per to a note from the Chief Minister's Office, the decisions in the Cabinet were taken after 'a high-level study of best practices in other states, covering excise duty structures, licensing and tax collection'.The state has also decided to create 1,223 new posts - 744 regular and 479 supervisory in the excise bill will be tabled in the upcoming session of the state legislature.
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Winning $10 million lottery scratchers ticket sold in the East Bay
The Brief A winning $10M Super Bonus scratchers ticket was purchased in Concord, lottery officials announced. The winner has been identified as Steven Muhlestein. He won the top prize in the scratchers game. CONCORD, Calif. - A lucky lottery scratcher worth a whooping $10 million was sold at a Concord liquor store, state lottery officials announced. The California Lottery identified the winner as Steven Muhlestein, who took the top prize in the $10 Million Super Bonus scratchers game. He purchased the ticket at the Vintage Wine Shoppe & Liquor on the corner of Clayton Road and Roslyn Drive. At $30 a ticket, the price to play $10,000,000 Super Bonus is among the higher costs for California Lottery scratchers games, though clearly Muhlestein's return on investment was quite lucrative. The odds of winning the top prize are one in more than three million. The store receives a $50,000 bonus for selling the winning ticket. Dig deeper The $10,000,000 Super Bonusgame was first launched in August 2023, lottery officials told KTVU. And at this point, out of the seven $10 million top prizes, only two remain, officials explained. What we don't know Officials did not reveal where Muhlestein lives, as the hometowns of California Lottery players are protected by privacy law, according to the state agency. It's also now known when he purchased his winning ticket, though officials pointed out that scratchers players have 180 days from the announced end of a game to claim a prize. Muhlestein wasn't the only one in Northern California who won it big playing a lottery scratcher game. Officials also recently announced that Ashley Eugene learned that she struck it rich with a ticket worth $5 million purchased in Sacramento at A1 Mart on W. El Camino Avenue. Eugene received the lucky scratcher from her father during the holidays as a Christmas gift, but she held off on checking if she won in the $20 Maximum Millions game, the California Lottery said last week. "I waited about a week and a half and just happened to be doing laundry," Eugene told lottery officials. When she finally got around to scratching up the ticket to unveil the game's numbers, she was struck with disbelief. "I kept looking at it and making sure it was correct," Eugene recalled, saying her dad just happened to be with her when she learned she would be a millionaire. "So he looked at it and made sure it was correct," she added. SEE ALSO:Lucky lottery ticket sold in the East Bay hits all five Fantasy 5 numbers Eugene, who is a mother of four, said she doesn't plan to quit working just yet. She said right now, she's focused on using the winnings to be rid of her debt, set up her children's futures, and maybe even take some extra vacations. State lottery officials also announced another person hit the jackpot with the top prize in a $10 million scratchers game sold in the Central Valley. Delores Cesena purchased the lucky 200X lottery game at Shannon's Mini Mart in Atwater in Merced County.
Winnipeg Free Press
30-04-2025
- Business
- Winnipeg Free Press
‘Progress, not perfection': Manitoba's homegrown pot ban ends Thursday
Manitoba is ending an outright ban on homegrown cannabis, but recreational users remain committed to fighting for the right to grow pot in their backyards. As of Thursday, anyone aged 19 and older can grow a maximum of four plants in an indoor room, container or enclosure that is not accessible to underage residents or visitors. The changes bring the province more in line with the rest of Canada — except for Quebec, where it remains illegal to cultivate cannabis for personal use. JESSE BOILY / FREE PRESS FILES Jesse Lavoie launched a legal challenge against the provincial government in 2020 to fight the ban on growing cannabis plants at home. Licensed producer TobaGrown has imported 'exotic seeds' from Spain and elsewhere in Canada that will be up for sale immediately, said Jesse Lavoie, founder of the non-profit organization. It's a bittersweet milestone for Lavoie, who launched a legal challenge against the provincial government in 2020. He argued federal legislation allowed provinces only to restrict the growing of non-medical cannabis at home instead of issuing a sweeping ban. The case — which was dismissed and Lavoie was in the process of appealing until he learned changes were in the works in 2024 — was funded via TobaGrown sales and donations. 'Our lawsuit was fighting for both indoor and outdoor,' he said, noting he plans to revive it if the Kinew government does not widen the rules. 'Keeping it indoors and how they have it written, requiring plants to be locked in a room, essentially in your basement, keeps the taboo in place.' Justice Minister Matt Wiebe defended the legislation as 'balanced,' citing concerns about community access to outdoor gardens. 'This is the right mix of giving that choice to Manitobans, but also protecting kids,' Wiebe said. The rules also allow businesses to tap into new markets and sell both seeds and growing equipment, he noted. Seeds and plants, often called clones, must be bought from a licensed Manitoba store, per the newly updated Liquor, Gaming and Cannabis Control Act. Melanie Bekevich, vice-president of the Retail Cannabis Council of Manitoba, said she does not anticipate a significant impact on member sales, owing to the limited markup on seeds and complexities of growing pot. The co-owner of Winnipeg's Mistik Cannabis Co. said she plans to stock seeds, mainly for educational purposes so customers are up to date with the regulations. 'It's progress, not perfection at this time,' Bekevich said about the inability for cannabis users to take their plants outside unless they have a medical licence. Bekevich and Lavoie both said the cannabis industry is generally on board with the changes that do away with a $2,542 fine for growing non-medical cannabis inside a residence. 'You can make wine and beer at home, but there's still lineups outside liquor stores,' Lavoie added. In the lead up to the regulatory changes, the official Opposition accused the NDP of diverting limited police resources from more pressing issues by bringing in new homegrown rules. 'With violent crime on the rise, how can the premier justify focusing on cannabis policy?' Wayne Ewasko, then-interim leader of the Progressive Conservatives, asked Premier Wab Kinew during question period last week. Ewasko then suggested Kinew must be smoking pot daily. 'I don't smoke weed at all. Guess what? I don't drink either. I don't even use Tylenol — but that's not the point,' Kinew quipped. 'The point is that the member opposite's 1950s Reefer Madness mentality, it just doesn't work.' (Director Louis Gasnier's propaganda film achieved cult classic status owing to its over-the-top depiction of cannabis users as dangerous criminals.) Ewasko later told the Free Press the plan is unenforceable and rests upon 'neighbours ratting on neighbours.' The justice minister said the province does not anticipate the updates will generate significant new activity for police, but rather provide clarity about what is legal. 'People are in this quasi-legal realm again. It's just absurd, to be six years after legalization, and we're still dealing with grey area,' said Steven Stairs, a longtime cannabis advocate. 'If you're going to be progressive, why go 95 per cent of the way?' During Elections Get campaign news, insight, analysis and commentary delivered to your inbox during Canada's 2025 election. Stairs received a medical prescription for pot in 2009 to treat vision problems and alleviate related pain. For the last 15 years, he's been growing weed in his backyard with a medical licence, he said, adding he's never had a plant stolen or received a complaint from a neighbour during that period. Stairs said he protected his children by educating them on the drug and its effects. It's also important to lock up the plants, be it with zipper-secure tents or otherwise, so they cannot be accessed by kids or pets, he said. He likened the process to locking a garage door so no tools are stolen overnight. Maggie MacintoshEducation reporter Maggie Macintosh reports on education for the Free Press. Originally from Hamilton, Ont., she first reported for the Free Press in 2017. Read more about Maggie. Funding for the Free Press education reporter comes from the Government of Canada through the Local Journalism Initiative. Every piece of reporting Maggie produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
CBC
08-02-2025
- Business
- CBC
Calgary to consider allowing legal cannabis sales at adults-only events
Social Sharing Cannabis retailers may soon be more common at Calgary events, as city council will soon consider allowing the sale of marijuana products at adults-only events. Ward 11 Coun. Kourtney Penner revealed a notice of motion this week that she'll bring to the city's executive committee on Tuesday, calling on council to allow cannabis to be sold at events where minors aren't allowed. Penner cited events like Badlands Music Festival, Chasing Summer and the Great Outdoors Comedy Festival as examples that could benefit from the decision. On Thursday, Penner told reporters the decision would align Calgary policy with Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis rules that were updated a year ago to permit licensed cannabis retailers to set up temporary sales at adults-only events. "What this does is level the playing field between cannabis and alcohol, which are both legal substances," Penner said. "This is really just about enabling business and creating opportunity for businesses that are legally permissible." After a technical review next week, the motion will be debated by city councillors on Feb. 25. Omar Khan, chief communications and public affairs officer for cannabis company High Tide Inc., welcomed the news about Penner's notice of motion. High Tide, which operates 191 stores under the Canna Cabana brand across Canada, has more than 30 locations of the store in Calgary. Opening up legal sales at local festivals would also help the cannabis industry compete with the illicit market, which Khan identifies as a growing problem for the industry. "We know that when you move a legal cannabis store into a neighbourhood that hasn't previously been served, illicit market activity does go down, because most people want to follow the law," Khan said. Some Calgary festivals have already hosted cannabis consumption spaces. Chinook Cannabis organized a place for cannabis to be delivered and consumed at the Badlands Music Festival last year. Meanwhile, the Calgary Folk Music Festival opened its first legal cannabis-consumption area in 2019. Diplomat Consulting president Nathan Mison, who has advocated for legal cannabis sales at Alberta events for years, argues that cannabis sales should be as ubiquitous at such events as alcohol. Even though Alberta changed its provincial policy on the matter a year ago, Mison said he understands the delay for Calgary to catch up is partly due to more pressing matters for a local government to deal with. But the resulting year-long gap meant Calgary could see how cannabis sales worked at events in Edmonton last year. Plantlife Cannabis, for instance, sold its products at Edmonton's own Great Outdoors Comedy Festival last summer. "Sometimes the best thing that can happen when you're looking for big regulatory changes is a sister city like Edmonton went first and it wasn't a disaster. It was pretty much a moot issue that it happened," Mison said. Looking ahead, Mison added that cannabis hospitality overall is an untapped market in Alberta. He imagines future opportunities for restaurants, bars and cafes to offer cannabis products for chefs and mixologists to use either as an inebriant or as a relaxing agent. In the meantime, Mison noted cannabis sales at music and comedy festivals makes sense when it's not uncommon to encounter the substance in these spaces already. "Let's be a little honest with ourselves as well, it's not like cannabis isn't being consumed at events during legalization or previous to legalization," Mison said. "All you're doing is taking this out of the backrooms and back hallways, and putting it right out in front."
