The vote was seven in favour, one against

It was an almost unanimous vote from Cambridge City Council, as they voted to opt-in for retail cannabis stores.

Nicholas Ermeta of Ward 8 was the only vote against, citing constituents' feedback as his reason for voting "no."

They'll now join many other parts of the Region who have done the same, including Kitchener and Waterloo.

Mayor Kathryn McGarry said she hopes that controlling the supply of cannabis will help eliminate the black market, and help lower the number of people exposed to fentanyl and opioids through illicit drugs.

"We are glad, here, to have a safe, legal option to better protect our youth, and to try to diminish the number of black market sellers."

Waterloo Regional Police agree with that sentiment.

Police Chief Bryan Larkin presented to the council, recommending that they opt-in.

He reasoned that the more supply the city controls, the less people will be exposed to fentanyl and other opioids through illicit drugs.

Larkin added that more legal supply will be less of a drain on police resources.

Something else that came up was public feedback, with one councillor saying that their constituents were fine with opting-in, as long as it wasn't in their neighbourhood.

McGarry said that council, unfortunately, won't be able to make that call.

"The only stipulation from the Provincial Government guidelines is '150 metres distance from any local school,'" says McGarry. "They have said right in the legislation that local council won't have a say in where those stores will be located."

Several councillors lamented the loss of the LCBO model, but still cited safe supply as reason enough to opt-in.

Only seven licenses have been issued to Western Ontario so far.