LaSalle is opting out of allowing retail cannabis stores within the town for now because there are too many unknowns.
In a 5-2 vote, council said they need more information and the issue will be revisited next year. Town staff recommend the town wait and see how retail marijuana stores are adopted elsewhere first. LaSalle doesn’t meet the current provincial population criteria of 50,000 or more to get pot shop licences.
Council was told the financial benefit for hosting retail cannabis shops is only $25,000 to $40,000 a year.
Councillor Mike Akpata, a former Windsor police officer, voted to opt in because recreational marijuana is now legal.
"The law has always been flexible and has changed and we must be flexible and change as well. This is a legal substance like ice cream. If eight ice cream stores went up on Front Road, we wouldn't bat an eyelash," said Akpata.
Akpata said the more we wait to embrace marijuana storefronts, the richer the black market gets.
"Everytime that we delay in saying we need a storefront, there's somebody who will step up and sell it on the street corner. There's someone who will step up and sell it at a school because they're doing it already," he added.
Akpata said opting in will not make LaSalle more unsafe.
"By not having a storefront here, we're not making our community safer because [people] can get it on [their] computer or smartphone or from [their] guy who supplied it before it was legal," Akpata said.
So far, Leamington is the only town in Windsor-Essex saying yes to retail pot storefronts, even though it doesn't qualify under population guidelines. Windsor, the Town of Essex, Kingsville and Amherstburg still have to debate the issue. Lakeshore and Tecumseh have already said no to retail cannabis stores for now.
The province has given cities and towns until January 22 to decide whether to opt in or not. Municipalities that do not opt-in can do it later. However, those that agree to host pot shops will not be allowed to opt out in the future.
