Dilkens right to be cautious about pot shops
How appropriate that retail cannabis shops would open across Windsor on April Fool’s Day if our new council, under immense lobbying pressure from folks hoping to score big profits, were to vote next month to accept retail sales. Councillors might want to bear in mind that memorable line, still relevant three-centuries on, “Fools rush in where angels fear to tread,” as they contemplate the minefield awaiting municipalities that “opt-in” for the retail pot proposal on offer from the Doug Ford government.
Legalization of recreational marijuana has, to this point, been a non-event across Ontario. It’s flying under the radar, thanks mostly to the fact you can only buy it online. Just you and your delivery person, wink, wink, know why you’ve been so laid back recently and why the tips will surely be a mite more generous this Christmas if you can get off the couch.
The real coming-out party for recreational pot in Ontario will kick off in April in municipalities that choose, by a Jan. 22 deadline, to go down Ford’s road of no return — if you opt in, there’s no turning back — and see how it plays out.
The smart play, the choice Windsor and most Essex County municipalities will surely make, will be to sit back and watch this experiment unfold. Go to school on those self-designated guinea pigs. And if there’s a significant upside to hosting pot shops and few social problems, which would be a miracle, we can sign on in six months or a year or whenever. Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens is tilting in the direction of holding off until it’s clear how retail sales impact host communities and suspects most of the region’s leaders feel the same way. “I haven’t decided definitely, but I’m leaning toward opting out, and there is no risk for us to do so,” said Dilkens. His biggest concern is that the provincial regulations for cannabis shops are frighteningly weak.
Under current rules, he warned, a private operator could open a pot shop right next door to Brentwood or next to addiction treatment facilities on Ouellette Avenue operated by Hotel Dieu- Grace Healthcare. “Imagine if someone proposed opening an LCBO next to Brentwood. People would go crazy.”
He’s disturbed that the watered-down regulations would allow a cannabis shop to open just one Big Mac dash, 150 metres, from schools. Pot patrons could be lighting up their purchases well within view of toddlers on school playgrounds.
It’s commendable that the Ford government is committed to free enterprise and slashing red tape, but loosening the rules to the point where chaos ensues is beyond reckless. Communities that opt in under these rules might as well run up the white flag because it means they accept being powerless: unable to impose zoning restrictions or limit the number of cannabis shops. Windsor employed those tools effectively in controlling massage parlours and strip clubs. But cannabis sellers will be comparatively free to do as they please. I’ve written about this before, but Dilkens remains troubled by the street scene he encountered while checking out legal cannabis shops in Denver, Colo. The establishments were well managed with lots of security, but the atmosphere outside was “problematic” with enough dubious characters hanging out to create “discomfort” for someone with police training who stands six-foot-four and weighs 250 pounds.
“It was exactly the opposite effect of what we spent all that money in our downtown trying to create,” said Dilkens.
If council chooses to opt in, he expects to see a flood of shops open across Windsor, with retailers in every ward. He expects many will go broke in the first year or so and consolidation will follow.
Still, it troubles him that Windsor, already dealing with opioid and meth epidemics, could have another consumption issue on its hands. The experience in American cities is that problems associated with cannabis retailing tend to be relatively minor in nature, including loitering, littering and property crimes like burglaries.
From my perspective, the status quo looks pretty darn attractive. People are getting their weed delivered right to the front door, as always, only now it’s all perfectly legal and totally civilized.
What’s not to like?