Sudbury city staff recommend city opts in for recreational cannabis store

Greater Sudbury city staff are recommending councillors say yes to establishing a retail recreational cannabis store in the city.

Recreational cannabis became legal in Canada on Oct. 17. Currently in Ontario, people can only purchase it online through the province's Ontario Cannabis Store. The province says brick and mortar stores will open next spring.

In the meantime, municipalities need to decide if they want the stores in their communities. The stores will be privately operated, but licensed and regulated by the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario.

On Tuesday, city councillors will discuss a report prepared by city staff that recommends Sudbury should opt in forsuch a store.

In recent weeks, the city has conducted surveys both online and over the phone to gather community reaction and feedback.

The report to city council states that at the time it was prepared, more than 10,000 responses were received online and 1,000 phone surveys were done through Oraclepoll Research.

The report also says in its online poll, the majority of people support legalizing cannabis for recreational use. Out of the people who took the survey, 88.8 per cent say they don't have concerns about a retail cannabis store being set up in Sudbury. In total, 91.2 per cent of respondents say they feel the city should allow such a store to open in the community.