Winkler is one of several Manitoba communities using this month’s municipal elections to make decisions on whether or not to allow marijuana retail stores.
Mayor Martin Harder said the community decided to go to the people to make a democratic decision on whether they want a retail store in the city or not.
“We’ve had lots of people say ‘yes we should’ and lots of people who say ‘we shouldn’t.'”
Harder said he believes there will be a ten percent spread but doesn’t know which side will come out on top. He said they know there will be pot being consumed in town, and that they’ve adjusted and adopted by-laws accordingly.
Winkler is a big enough community, he said, to have a proper business area whereas a lot of smaller, rural communities couldn’t meet the parameters for marijuana retail space, for reasons like being too close to schools.