Smiths Falls, Ont., wants an exemption to Ontario's cannabis rules to let hometown producer Canopy Growth open its own retail store.

The eastern Ontario town is not among the first 14 LCBO-regulated stores the government plans to open when cannabis is legalized next July.

This week Smiths Falls city council passed a motion asking the province to make an exception by allowing Canopy Growth, one of Canada's biggest growers and distributors of marijuana, to manage its own retail shop.

The company has been operating successfully in the area since 2014, and has been a major employer in the town, according to Mayor Shawn Pankow.

Canopy 'a blessing'

"They've been nothing but a blessing," Pankow said Wednesday in an interview with CBC Radio's All in a Day.

"We look at this not just as an opportunity to provide a product. It's also an opportunity to boost our local economy," Pankow said.

"Cannabis tourism is something that will make Canada attractive for a lot of overseas tourists. Why not take advantage of that and make sure we direct more of those people to our community?"

The province chose to use the LCBO model for the new stores to ensure consistency and safety, Pankow said. But he thinks Canopy Growth is already meeting those regulations.

The town is hoping to arrange a meeting with the provincial government later this week to discuss a possible exemption.