Now that the Ontario government has introduced legislation to regulate recreational cannabis, the owner of a Hamilton medical cannabis dispensary is optimistic the two sides can coexist.
Hamilton is one of the 14 cities to get the first run of Cannabis Control Board of Ontario (CCBO) stores selling recreational pot when legalization takes effect next summer.
Clint Young of MMJ — a medical marijuana dispensary with three locations in Hamilton — says the retail trade is “big enough for everyone.”
“If we go about this like a proper business, I feel there might be an ability to get ourselves in there with the Cannabis Control Board of Ontario. Clearly, the government needs its CCBO,” he said. “The province is not going to let us control the market, which is understandable.”
LISTEN: Clint Young joins the Bill Kelly Show with guest host Rick Zamperin
Young says he and others in the medical pot sector have been surveying people and the results show there is enough demand for both government agency stores and the craft marketplace.
He says the medical dispensaries already operating adhere to rules for proper security and handling, along with any local regulations for things like distance from schools.
Young adds the government stores will exist, he just doesn’t want them to exist without the pioneers of the marketplace.
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