Sarnia's police chief says selling recreational marijuana in private stores raises several concerns.
The Ontario government will reportedly allow private stores to sell pot once it becomes legal on October 17.
A source in the provincial government told the Globe and Mail that the finance minister and attorney general are expected to make an announcement as early as next week to outline a plan to let the private sector to own and operate cannabis shops.
Police Chief Norm Hansen has reservations.
"At this point in time we don't even sell alcohol at private stores, except for a select few grocery stores," he says. "So I think that it's a little bit premature to say that we're going to sell cannabis at these stores and put these clerks at the possible risk of robbery, etcetera."
The previous Liberal government had planned to give the Liquor Control Board of Ontario a monopoly on the sale of recreational cannabis.