Despite saying no once already, a local municipality is taking another look at hosting a retail cannabis store.
The Town of Lakeshore is gauging public opinion on opening up the process of bringing a brick-and-mortar pot store in. An information session took place Monday night at the Atlas Tube Centre, during which residents learned about the process, as well as discussed their concerns with town officials and the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit.
Information on applying for a licence, along with the health effects of cannabis use, was available for the public to take in.
Kim Darroch, manager of development services for the town of Lakeshore, told BlackburnNewsWindsor.com that council saying no back in December was more about unanswered questions than anything else.
"Council opted out at the moment because there wasn't a lot of information on what the impacts were of these retail stores in the municipalities," said Darroch.
Since recreational cannabis is now legal, and municipalities that opted-out could opt back in down the road, Darroch said it was an ideal time to see what Lakeshore residents had to say about the topic. With that, an online survey was started and the feedback the town has received so far has been very informative.
"There's been over a hundred people who have answered the survey," said Darroch. "It's been about, I would say, split kind of evenly as to whether they want them in or want them out."
Should Lakeshore opt-in, though, provincial regulators would have the final say on how many pot stores the town could have, where they would be located, and so on. The City of Windsor has opted-in to hosting a cannabis retailer, and the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO), which oversees the legal cannabis trade in the province, granted a proposed licence for a location in the downtown core.
Amherstburg, Essex, Kingsville, and Leamington also opted-in. Lakeshore, Tecumseh and LaSalle all said no, each citing a lack of information.
Darroch said with the information gathered through the survey and the information session, a report will be drawn up and presented to town council, which will then decide whether to open the question again. The report could be presented as soon as next month.
Representatives from the town of Lakeshore and the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit participate in an information session on cannabis retail at the Atlas Tube Centre, November 4, 2019. Photo by Mark Brown/Blackburn News.
