It’s high time for Milton to say yes to hosting cannabis retail stores, in line with the latest recommendation of town staff in a report that will go before council next week.

That's according to Coun. Rick Di Lorenzo.

Di Lorenzo was one of two councillors who voted against opting out of allowing cannabis-selling business in the municipality last year. With the reopening of the discussion, he believes not opting in will only encourage more illegal cannabis sales that could lead to a bigger health risk for residents.

“When we don’t opt in, it becomes a safety concern because then people who want to purchase cannabis, which is legal now in Canada, don’t have a retail venue to visit. If they’re not going to go to Burlington or Toronto, the worry is ... what if they purchase it off of the black market?” Di Lorenzo said.

He says the same goes to buying untested and potentially dangerous marijuana online, a business model that has been flourishing due the lack of legal options in town.

“It's really shocking how many places in Milton right now will deliver it to your door,” he noted.

In making the recommendation, town staff took into account recent remarks from Halton Police Chief Steve Tanner, as well as community feedback. An online survey conducted by the town to gauge public’s opinion shows that 57.4 per cent supported having cannabis outlets here and 41.1 per cent against.

Coun. Mike Cluett, who was on the opposing side last year, said council members “were under the gun with a (tight) time frame and deadline."

"(I) wanted to get a little bit more of information," he reasoned, which would also give staff more time to do additional studies and reviews.

Now, having seen the generally positive public feedback — including from his own experience talking with residents in the community — and the impacts on other municipalities that had opted in, he is likely to change his stance.