A resolution by the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit recommending communities opt-out of retail pot sales passed unanimously at Thursday night's board meeting in Essex.
Municipalities have until Jan. 22, 2019 to say yes or no to retail store-fronts, but can opt-in at a later date. As of Oct. 17 recreational pot sales are only permitted through the Ontario Cannabis Store website.
Manager of Chronic Disease and Injury Prevention Eric Nadalin tells AM800 News marijuana can be just as harmful as alcohol and tobacco and municipalites have the chance to learn from previous mistakes.
"The evidence in the literature available to us would tell us that, greater exposure to retail outlets results in greater harm to community,” he says.
Nadalin knows many communities will move forward with retail store-fronts, but hopes they will at least opt-out in January and gather more information on, "how to prepare for having commercially available cannabis in their communities, as well as protecting residents from exposure to retail store-fronts and the normalization of using cannabis."
He says the feedback from throughout Windsor-Essex shows many communities may hold off on retail stores, at least initially.
"We've heard from our municipalities from the onset, as well as law enforcement and school boards, that they need more time to prepare for legalization, to learn from existing experiences from other municipalities that have legalized cannabis," says Nadalin.
According to the report, pot use before the age of 25 can cause permanent mental and physical development issues — the age to legally use pot in Ontario is 19.