Cannabis retail opens to small municipalities

A second round of cannabis licensing will include municipalities with populations under 50,000, says the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO).
Applicants can participate in a pre-qualification process, if they are in municipalities that have opted in for cannabis retail. That leaves out Clearview but does include Mulmur and Collingwood.
There will be seven new stores in the east region (including Simcoe County) and 11 new stores in the west region (including Dufferin County).
It was announced on July 3 that an additional 50 cannabis retail stores will be permitted across Ontario, consisting of 42 in any municipality that has not opted-out and eight on First Nations reserves.
The AGCO will hold a lottery on August 20, and the results will be announced within 24 hours. Applicants must demonstrate they have the financial capacity to open a cannabis retail store and have secured suitable retail space that could be used for it.
To participate in this lottery, applicants must submit an expression of interest between August 7-9. All the information is posted at www.agco.ca.