By Zainab Zaman,
Major Ontario cities including Mississauga are considering revisiting cannabis store bans to defeat the black market after a year of legalization and short supplies.
At the start of legalization, some of the biggest towns in the 905 around Toronto voted against allowing cannabis stores in late 2018 and early 2019.
However as Ontario’s cannabis market is expected to grows faster this spring, a decision to change the ban can still be made.
The elected representatives of Mississauga, Markham, Richmond Hill, Vaughn, Oakville, Whitby, and Pickering opted not to allow the sale of legal cannabis. The decisions were made in order to meet a tight provincial deadline.
After a year of legalization, 2.8 million people still live in areas where the sale of legal cannabis is restricted and stores are forbidden.
The number of residents combined in the cities that opted out is equivalent to the size of the whole population of Atlantic Canada, and about one fifth of Ontario’s population.
Mississauga is one of the largest cities that is considering opting in late, said Brad Poulos a business of cannabis professor at Ryerson University.
“Politicians that chose to opt-out were just being cautious and allowing the rest of Ontario to demonstrate whether there would be issues surrounding these stores,” he said.
Karen Ras, a councillor in Mississauga on the opposing side, told Global News that she wants to look back at the decision that was made last year under a tight deadline.
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