High hopes for Garden City pot shops
Majority of meeting participants indicate support for retailers
The benefits of allowing private cannabis retail stores to set up shop in St. Catharines seemed to outweigh concerns for most of the dozens of people who attended a public input meeting on the subject at city hall Tuesday night.
They enthusiastically supported the idea.
“Cannabis is here to stay,” said Ramiel Isaac-Daniel.
Isaac-Daniel said he is in the process of applying for a cannabis retail licence with his business partner, Daniel Titone, in hopes of opening retail stores in St. Catharines and throughout Niagara, to be called Puffs Cannabis.
“If St. Catharines doesn’t get on to it, it’s just going to lose economic benefits to Niagara Falls, Thorold, Welland, Hamilton … We want to bring cannabis to St. Catharines, but we want to do it the right way,” he said.
St. Catharines planner Bruce Bellows told Tuesday’s audience that municipalities have until Jan. 22 to decide if they want to opt in or out of allowing retail sales of the drug. City councillors will consider a report on the issue at their Jan. 14 meeting.
Although municipalities can opt in at a later date, Bellows said those that choose to do so might not receive the same level of financial subsidies as municipalities that allow retail sales from the start.
“St. Catharines should opt in,” said Ashley Pollock, who discussed the potential for marijuana-related businesses such as mom and pop stores and “cannabis boutiques.”
“I think there are some good job opportunities in this,” she added.
Pollock said excise taxes from the sale of marijuana could also help lower property taxes, “and I don’t think we should sneeze at that.”
Bellows said the city’s zoning and licensing laws do not apply to the retail sale of the drug, although the province says “it will have regard” for local zoning when considering applications for the businesses.
More details about retail cannabis stores is available on the city’s website, as is a survey that will be available until Friday.
A few people Tuesday night spoke against cannabis stores, citing health concerns, the potential that children could obtain the drug, as well as intoxicated drivers.
“We stopped people from smoking a few years ago, because it’s not healthy,” said an unidentified woman. “And now we’re going to be smoking this other stuff.”
Several store supporters stressed the need for education to allay concerns.
“Education is huge when it comes to cannabis, and understanding what cannabis is,” said Nathan Lambert.
He said he grew up in a home where cannabis was considered a dangerous drug “just like cocaine and heroin,” and it wasn’t until he began researching cannabis for a university thesis on its medical use that he began to understand its benefits.
He asked why the city “would choose to opt out of something that seems quite positive.”
Frustrated about indecision, Gord Campbell said: “We have to make a decision. We’ve been smoking pot since 1960.”