Retail Sale of Cannabis in Penetanguishene

The Town of Penetanguishene would like to hear what you think about the sale of Cannabis in our community through private retail stores. The Province of Ontario has given municipalities the opportunity to decide whether or not to allow retail Cannabis stores within their communities and each municipality must decide by January 22, 2019.  If a municipality opts-in, then they can never opt-out but if the Town opts-out you can opt-in at a later date.  The Province will  be providing municipalities with funds for expenses related to legalization of Cannabis and additional funds may be given to municipalities depending on whether the retail sale of Cannabis is permitted within the municipality.  For those reasons, the Town wants to ensure that we are making an informed decision from the start. The Province has indicated that municipalities cannot distinguish between the retail sale of Cannabis or any other type of retail store and also requires a 150 metre (492 feet) separation distance between the location of Cannabis retail stores and schools.

The licensing of Cannabis retail stores will be through the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) and residents and the Town will have the opportunity to provide additional comments for consideration to the AGCO regarding other types of land uses and activities before a license is issued.  The AGCO may consider these additional comments; however, they are not required to refuse to issue a license based on these comments. Further information regarding the rules and regulations for private retail licensing can be found on the AGCO website at:  www.agco.ca. 

The following survey should take approximately 5 minutes, and will help Town staff and your Council make an informed decision that takes your opinion into consideration.  The survey will be open until December 31, 2018.  A decision by Council is planned for January 9, 2019. Thank you for participating! 

Take the survey:  https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/GLCCT6G 

Disclaimer: The information gained from this survey will be presented to Council and will be public information.