Brant County should “opt-in” and allow private retail cannabis stores to open within its boundaries, says Mayor David Bailey.

“I’m all for it,” Bailey said in an interview Friday.

He said he is in favour of a proposal brought to councillors last week by Emblem, a Paris-based manufacturer of medicinal and recreational cannabis. The company would like to open a retail outlet, with an educational component, at its Scott Avenue manufacturing plant when retail cannabis outlets become legal on April 1, 2019.,

“Emblem has a spotless reputation and the proposal they brought to us was stellar,” said Bailey.

Municipalities in Ontario have until Jan. 22 to decide whether they will allow cannabis stores.

County councillors will debate the issue at their Dec. 18 meeting. They put off a decision last week to allow time to gather public input.

Councillors are considering three options.

They are:

“¢ Opt-in to allow cannabis stores. Once that determination is made, the municipality could never opt out;

“¢ Opt-out with a one-year review that would include taking a look at the experience of other municipalities;

“¢ Not allow cannabis stores.

“I’ve received a lot of calls and e-mails on this,” Bailey said.

“And there are some who say, ‘Don’t you dare vote to opt-in’ and there are others who think we should show that we’re a progressive community and we should move forward and opt-in,” he said.

“I think we should opt-in because I think it will be good for the county.”

Bailey said those who object on moral grounds and think people should not smoke pot must remember that using recreational marijuana is now legal.

“It’s now a legal product and I think we have to make a decision that we believe is in the best interests of the county.”

He said he disagrees with those who believe that the opening of retail cannabis shops in the county will promote addiction.

“I went to school in Holland and passed coffee shops where marijuana was readily available all the time,” Bailey said. “But I never stopped to use it.

“I think it’s the kind of thing where you either use it or you don’t and the availability of it isn’t really a factor.”

Bailey noted that several municipalities, including Norfolk County, have voted to opt-in.

The City of Brantford is expected to debate the cannabis retail issue at its Jan. 8 meeting. A public information meeting is being held at the civic centre auditorium, 79 Market St., on Jan. 3 at 6:30 p.m.

“I’ve heard there are some concerns about a lot of ‘head’ shops opening in downtown Paris if we were to opt-in,” Bailey said.

“But I don’t think that’s likely to happen.

“The Paris BIA would have something to say about that and I think what they’d only allow is a novelty-type store that fit in with the rest of the downtown.”

Bailey said he thinks the Emblem proposal makes sense.

“It’s in an industrial area, well away from everything else and Emblem is a growing company,” he said.

“A retail outlet with an educational component would bring jobs and, potentially, tourism to the county.”

Even if Brant decides to opt-in there is no guarantee a licence will be granted for a retail cannabis outlet in the county.

That’s because, on Thursday night, the Ontario government said it will only be able to issue 25 licences by April.

The province said it plans to take a “phased approach” to authorizing retail cannabis outlets because of “severe supply shortages” across the country.

Only a limited number of licences will be handed out for the launch of private retailers on April 1, with the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario implementing a lottery system to determine who is eligible. The results will be announced in January, the government says.

Vball@postmedia.com

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