File photo courtesy of © Can Stock Photo / SoruEpotok

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The mayor of Chatham-Kent says the municipality won’t be part of the provincial cannabis business unless more information becomes available.

The province is reaching out to local governments to try and establish locations for LCBO-supervised marijuana stores. But Mayor Randy Hope, who doesn’t agree with legalizing recreational marijuana, says the province is too vague with many details such as resources and enforcement.

Hope says there’s too much uncertainty about the issue and it’s very difficult to get behind the move without all of the information.

“They’re not talking about any government programs or programs to assist those who deal with people of crisis situations or dealing with mental health and other things. Are they talking about adding more money to those vital services that are needed in our community? It’s gone absolutely silent on that part of it,” says the mayor.

Hope says Chatham-Kent hasn’t been notified yet but understands that it may be forced to be a host if the province chooses the area as a location. He says some states in the U.S. ran out of recreational marijuana within two days when they introduced it and he fears the black market won’t be weakened if that happens here.

Hope says there are too many unanswered questions that could lead to a slippery slope.

“When you execute and implement a program, you should have a full blanket of things that are available and what’s going to be happening. Is it another social issue that the police has to deal with and how do you enforce it?” Hope asks.

He says, once again, municipalities are left holding the bag for an idea that comes from an upper level of government.

“It’s us who are on the front line and this is what gets to me about federal and provincial governments. Everybody comes up with a theory but the practical and the implementation is left to municipalities to deal with,” says Hope.

The province is promising public consultation before any final decisions are made.