Come April, private pot retailers will be able to set up shop in London

During its jam-packed meeting Tuesday night, city council voted in favour of allowing brick and mortar cannabis stores in London.

Coun. Michael Van Holst was the only vote against the motion, while Coun. Stephen Turner abstained.

Ontario municipalities have until Jan. 22 to decide if they want to opt in to allow private pot retail stores to operate in their cities.

Toronto and Ottawa voted to allow them while cities like Mississauga and Markham voted not to opt in.

Municipalities that opt out can later reverse that decision, while those that opt in cannot go back. Those opting in will also receive a certain portion of the federal excise duty.

If the province reaches $100 million in its portion of the duty over the first two years of legalization, 50 per cent of anything above that will be split between the opt in communities.

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Currently, the only legal way to purchase pot in the province is to buy it through a government-run website.