Town councils in Lakeshore and Tecumseh are opting out of store-front cannabis operations, and Kingsville may be next.
The Ford government gave municipalities until January 22 to decide if it will allow pot stores, but once they opt-in, they will not be allowed to opt out at a later date.
Mayors in both Tecumseh and Lakeshore said the need for caution is real, and if they can always agree to it later, why not wait and find out how other communities handled it.
Lakeshore Mayor Tom Bain told BlackburnNews.com there are just too many uncertainties to dive right in.
"Where are they located? Are they next to schools? Are they next to parks? Are they next to community centres? There was no answer for all of these questions," he said.
The province has said pot stores will not be allowed within 150 metres of a school, but there are few other restrictions regarding location. Municipalities will not have a say where the retail stores will go, or how many of them will be located within their communities.
Tecumseh Mayor Gary McNamara chairs the regular meeting of council on July 12, 2016. (Photo by Ricardo Veneza)
In Tecumseh, Mayor Gary McNamara also has a lot of questions. He believes funding from the province to help pay for the transition to legal marijuana is paltry next to the potential costs.
"Now we know that our cut of the $40 million across the province is $11,000," said McNamara. "That's it. And, with that, policing, tobacco enforcement through the health unit which we also pay for, property standards because now you can grow these plants."
He fears the legislation is being rushed.
"You have new councils that are coming on board, and you pretty much must have that decision by mid-January," he added.
Both towns have asked their administrations to come back with reports later describing how other communities have coped with retail shops.
"You don't go into the unknown because there are a lot of problems that could be there," explained Bain. "It was necessary to opt out and to get a report within the next three months or four months and get some of these questions answered."
Meanwhile, the issue is expected to come up at Kingsville's council January 14, when a notice of motion filed by Deputy Mayor Gord Queen goes up for debate.
Queen has asked his council also to opt out.