Amherstburg wants to make sure there are rules in place by the time the town's first retail cannabis store opens.
A Cannabis Retail Nuisance Bylaw is on the agenda for Monday night's town council meeting.
Councillor Don McArthur says, while the town doesn't have any pot shops just yet, it's important to get ahead of the game.
He says there aren't many rules in place at this point.
"There really is a great lack of local control, so what this is, is a cannabis retail bylaw. Amherstburg just want's to get ahead of the game and lay down some clear standards and protocols saying this is how it's going to work should somebody in the future come to open," he says."
McArthur says the town is not discouraging cannabis retailers, just looking to regulate them.
"We want to make sure that whatever opens up doesn't cause any problems in terms of traffic, parking, and it terms of loitering," he says. "My perspective on it is, that's fine, but I want to make sure we're not sort of singling out cannabis retailers either."
Amherstburg wasn't eligible for any retail cannabis licenses in April as they were only given to municipalities with a population over 50,000.
McArthur says there's potential for tourism if a shop were up open up in town.
"It's a legal drug now. I think we have to treat it as a legal drug, but be very responsible about it and make sure that we have a bylaw on the books that protects Amherstburg," he added. "I truly believe there could be an economic benefit to the town in terms of tourism and plus, I think a century of prohibition hasn't done people a lot of favours."
Earlier this month, the Ontario government announced it would be entering the next phase issuing another 50 licenses to any community that's opted in — meaning those looking to set up a pot shop in Amherstburg can now apply.
Locally, Windsor, Amherstburg, Essex, Kingsville, Leamington and Pelee Island all voted in favour of opting in to allow retail cannabis stores within their municipalities while LaSalle, Lakeshore and Tecumseh opted out.