Discussion of future of retail cannabis store sparks survey in Sudbury

Recreational cannabis is legal and now, the City of Greater Sudbury wants to know if residents want a retail store in the community.

The federal government legalized recreational marijuana last month. In Ontario, people can only legally purchase it from the Ontario Cannabis Store on-line. The province say brick-and-mortar stores will be set up next spring.

The city says municipalities are being offered the opportunity to "opt out" of having a retail store. That decision needs to be made by Jan. 22, 2019.

"We've launched ... through our platform, Over To You, some community consultation questions and effectively we're looking at kind of a couple of key areas there: do you support or oppose the federal government's decision to legalize cannabis for recreational use?," Kevin Fowke, the city's general manager of corporate services explained.

"Secondly, what are the concerns you have, do you have any concerns? And a third question, kind of flat out, do you feel the municipality should choose to allow retail cannabis stores in Greater Sudbury?"

The survey can be filled out online until the end of the month. That information will help council decide how to approach local retail stores.

"We are also engaging the services of a pollster to do telephone polling that will have some more significant data to be able to provide to council," he said.