9 Thursday and Friday, and at 5 PM on Saturday and Sunday. There are however SAQ Express outlets which carry a smaller range of products are open from 11 AM to 10 PM daily. Another 10-20 franchises also exist that allow to sell SAQ products (including liquor) until 9 PM, and all belong to Quebec-based grocery chain L'Inter-Marché, whose stores all open at 9 AM and close at 9 PM, every day. Distribution of cannabis In late 2017, some eight months before the expected legalisation of marijuana for recreational use across the country, the Province was planning to have the SAQ manage the sale of the product. Initially, 20 stores would be opened; on-line sales would also be offered, with deliveries to customers made by Canada Post. History The Société des alcools du Québec was created in 1921 under the name Quebec Liquor Commission (Commission des liqueurs du Québec). In 1961, it became the Régie des alcools du Québec (Quebec Liquor Control) and, in 1971, the Société des alcools du Québec. In 1921, an Alcoholic Beverages Act was passed and the Quebec Liquor Commission was established to conduct the trade of beer, wine and cider, and eventually spirits too. This provincial-owned corporation would then on exercise a legal monopoly on all distribution of alcohol in Quebec. In its first year, the commission establishes a quality control laboratory, opens 64 stores selling 383 products, employs 415 people and grosses $15 million in sales. In Canada the struggle for the total ban of alcohol began in the 1898 national referendum, asking people if they wished total prohibition which included importation, manufacturing and sale of all types of alcohol beverages (p. 4). Although the national results were extremely close with Yes leading by 2%, regional disparities were wide (p. 5). In Quebec, 81% of voters ended up rejecting the prohibition proposal in contrast to the rest of Canada (Petkantchin, 2005, p. 8). In fear of splitting the country on a sharp divide between Catholic French and Protestant English Canada, then Prime Minister Wilfrid Laurier decided not to act upon the vote results (Dupré, 2008, p. 5). By 1917, every province except Quebec implemented a complete ban on alcohol. A year later, a law was proposed in Quebec calling for complete prohibition in 1919. The law was never enacted due to opposition from the public and the Catholic Church (Petkantchin, 2005, p. 8). Quebec