Retail cannabis stores have been given the thumbs up in Windsor.
Council heard from nearly two dozens delegates Monday night from both sides of the fence and ultimately, by a vote of 8-3, opted in to allow retail pot shops in the city.
Windsorite Samuel Katzman is the COO of Katzman Enterprises.
He moved to Red Deer, Alberta to open a retail cannabis shop which has been in operation since November of last year.
Katzman says those worried about where the shops will be located need to think twice.
"Anyone who is a smart business operator knows that you would never put in a store in a place where it would jeopardize your reputation. If it was me, and I hope it is, I would make sure to work alongside the municipality and alongside my neighbours to make sure that it's the right location for everybody."
Windsor city council discusses retail cannabis shops at its meeting on January 21, 2019 (Photo by AM800's Zander Broeckel)
Katzman says the average age of his customers is 37 and they aren't who you might think.
"I've been absolutely amazed by the type of customers I've seen in my store and I've worked in my store thousands of hours from morning to night. So I've met them. They want to know that they're purchasing cannabis from licensed producers. They don't want to meet someone in a parking lot. So they like the idea of coming into a store. They like being informed."
He feels, in the near future, cannabis will be looked at no differently than alcohol or tobacco.
"The stigma is less than it was when I opened in November, which is unbelievable, it's only been a few months. I did an eight hour interview to obtain my due diligence. Every one of my workers have a clean criminal record. So it's important to have the proper operators in place because then you eliminate that stigma even more."
Katzman Enterprises COO Samuel Katzman discusses Windsor's decision to opt in to retail cannabis shops (Photo by AM800's Zander Broeckel)
Katzman says he hopes to be able to set up shop in his hometown adding he'll be putting in an application for a retail license in Windsor when the opportunity becomes available.
Windsor missed out on the first round of Ontario's retail license lottery where 25 licenses were awarded to municipalities with populations greater than 50,000 — the 25 store cap is expected to be in place until December 13.
After choosing to opt in, the city will now receive just over $250,000 in funding to be used for costs directly related to the legalization of cannabis.
The final tally for local municipalities has Windsor, Amherstburg, Essex, Kingsville, Leamington and Pelee Island opting in with LaSalle, Lakeshore and Tecumseh opting out.
BREAKING: @CityWindsorON council has voted to opt in on retail cannabis stores by a vote of 8-3 #cklw @AM800News pic.twitter.com/xuYSOPImYx
— Zander Broeckel (@zbroeckel800) January 22, 2019