Residents living in Essex will find out next month if the town decides to opt-in or opt-out of recreational marijuana shops.
On Monday, administration recommended council opt-out but after a brief discussion, council decided to postpone the matter until the January 14th council meeting.
It was a change of heart for council, as a previous motion made by councillor Sherry Bondy was defeated calling for the matter to be postponed.
Councillor Joe Garon voted in favour of postponing the issue.
He feels councillors will gather more information in the next three weeks before making a decision.
"It's an unknown right now, not everyone knows what's going to happen and this government has been changing its mind steady," says Garon. "Like I say, let's put a pin in it for three weeks, have some Christmas and holidays and come back and hopefully we some more views. I don't know maybe nothing is going to come of it, maybe we end up opting-out but I didn't see a reason today to make that decision."
(Photo courtesy of Josh Edelson/AFP/Getty Images)
He adds some residents want the town to opt-in.
"I would say the residents themselves I've spoken to are slightly leaning towards in," says Garon. "I myself am also leaning towards in but again I think it's important that we get all the information."
Council also heard a presentation from the local health unit calling for all local municipalities to opt-out.
The town will be posting a survey on its website on Tuesday dealing with cannabis retail shops.