City of Hamilton to permit provincially licensed cannabis retail stores

January 14 - 2019 - HAMILTON, ON – Hamilton City Council at its January 14 meeting voted to permit cannabis retails stores in Hamilton.

Permitting licensed retail cannabis stores will help reduce the illicit market, and enable residents and visitors to access regulated products. The City will also receive additional funding from the Ontario Cannabis Legalization Implementation Fund to offset the costs related to the legalization of recreational cannabis. Permitting licensed retail cannabis stores will also create economic uplift and employment opportunities in the city.

The Mayor will advocate with the Premier of Ontario, the Minister of Finance, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, Minister of Health, Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services and the Attorney General, and with the Association of Municipalities of Ontario for greater municipal authority over retail cannabis stores, including:

• the radial separation distances from sensitive uses such as parks, schools, day care and health care facilities;
• the over-concentration of dispensaries in one area of the city;
• the total number of dispensaries city-wide and within particular areas of the city;
• general issues of urban design such as location of entrances and transparency of facades;
• hours of operation;
• property standards compliance; and,
• the ability to restrict or prohibit operations that routinely violate municipal standards such as noise, nuisance or property standards

The City’s retail cannabis survey, which yielded 15,482 valid responses from December 21, 2018 to January 9, 2019, demonstrated support for licensed cannabis retail stores in Hamilton. Survey respondents indicated they want stores with appropriate protections to minimize the impacts on the community in particular controls around the proximity of stores to sensitive facilities such as such as schools, parks and open spaces, day nurseries/ child care centres, libraries, community centre, mental health and addiction centres, alcohol and detox centres; and safety and security of the store.

“Today, City Council has made the decision to opt-in to having recreational cannabis retails locations in Hamilton on a motion that I put forward and agree with. Hamilton will now receive substantial financial assistance from the provincial government to regulate these shops, ensure cannabis products sold are regulated by Health Canada and shut down illegal dispensaries in our city, ultimately removing funding from the black market.”

Mayor Fred Eisenberger