Pubdate: Sat, 09 Dec 2017
Source: Peterborough Examiner, The (CN ON)
Copyright: 2017 Peterborough Examiner
Contact: http://www.thepeterboroughexaminer.com/letters
Website: http://www.thepeterboroughexaminer.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2616
Author: Joelle Kovach
Page: A5

POT STORE EXPECTED BY NEXT SUMMER

LCBO advises city that Peterborough will have one of the first 40
marijuana stores to open in Ontario

Peterborough will have a marijuana store by next summer, says the city
CAO.

Allan Seabrooke said the store will sell marijuana for recreational
use. He said it will be open by July - the same month weed is going to
be legalized in Canada.

In an email to The Examiner, Seabrooke wrote that the store will be
operated by a subsidiary of the LCBO and will sell only cannabis - not
alcohol.

The Peterborough cannabis store is expected to be one of the first 40
stores to open in Ontario. The province plans to set up about 150
standalone cannabis stores by 2020.

It was still unclear Friday where exactly the store might be located
in Peterborough, although the provincial government has already said
none of the stores can be located near schools.

"The province will be working with the city over the next few months
to obtain a location for the outlet which will comply with the city
zoning requirements," Seabrooke wrote.

For a short time in September 2016, there was a Cannabis Culture store
on George St. in Peterborough.

It was popular, drawing lineups down the sidewalk for the short time
it was open. It closed after a raid by Peterborough Police.

In late October, the provincial government announced the first 14
cities selected for cannabis stores. Peterborough wasn't on the list.

But Seabrooke said officials from the provincial government since have
been in touch, and have said Peterborough will be included on an
expanded list. It will be formally announced next week, he said.

Finance Minister Charles Sousa told reporters this fall that the
public will be notified of the proposed store locations and will be
asked to provide feedback online to the LCBO.

Seabrooke said citizens can check online next week at
https://lcbocannabisupdates.com/

Although the federal government announced plans to legalize marijuana
by July 2018, it left it up to each province to design their own
distribution system and regulations.

Ontario is the first province to announce a detailed plan to sell
recreational pot. The legal age to buy marijuana in Ontario will be
19.

Smoking marijuana will not be allowed in public spaces or workplaces,
even when it's legal - the province says pot must be consumed in
private homes.
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MAP posted-by: Matt