Not easy being green: a look at Georgina’s ‘wild, wild west’ cannabis market

There are 12 pot shops open or in progress in Georgina, 7 are in Keswick

Yorkregion.com
July 18, 2022
Amanda Persico

Close to two thirds of Canada’s cannabis shops are in Ontario.

In April, some 2,000 licensed pot shops in the province sold more than $150 million worth of cannabis. Eight of those are open for business in Georgina, with another four in progress.

“It’s regulated, but it’s very much an open market,” said Jason Simick, Keswick native and Sessions Cannabis franchise owner. “There will be a war of attrition in the market. It will even out, just like any other business.” Sessions in Keswick was one of the first pot shops to open in Georgina after waiting months in the cannabis-retailer-licensing queue, said the father of four.

The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) is the ultimate authority on cannabis retail stores.

In early spring 2021, Georgina council voted unanimously to open up the gates. Along with retail licensing and employee training, cannabis shops have a laundry list of provincial hoops to jump through, from location and exterior appearance to requiring security cameras, ID check points and being able to trace each transaction back to a qualified employee.

And that can sometimes take months or even years, said Simick who opened the Keswick store in early 2022. Then there are the challenges of opening and establishing a new business.

For some local parents, such as Inga Balica, there aren’t enough hoops. The registered nurse is concerned with the number of cannabis shops in the area, especially when it comes to advertising near schools.

“Every single plaza from school to home has a cannabis store,” Balica said. “Every single one.” And each one of them advertises with signs and banners on the main road. There’s a cannabis banner at the corner of Glenwoods Avenue and The Queensway South that’s visible from the local high school.

“I know it’s legal,” Balica said. “But what about the ethical issue (of it) being right across (from) the high school. It can be anywhere, but not in front of a school. Why do (they) even advertise? Anybody who wants to know where the store is can Google it easily. It’s not something you have to dig for information.”

After hearing concerns from the community, Georgina council directed staff to draft a letter to the AGCO and the local MPP about the marketing practices of local cannabis shops.

“We’re a legal business trying to survive in crazy market,” said Simick, who paid for several registered advertising permits through the town’s sign bylaw. If you know anything about the cannabis market, it’s nuts.”

While the AGCO has strict limits on proximity to a school -- 150 metres -- there are no regulations on how many pot shops can open in a community, let alone in the same vicinity. That’s where there should be more government oversight, Simick said.

Of Georgina’s 12 registered pot shops, seven are in Keswick -- four are open and three in progress. And of those, four are located on or near The Queensway South. “It’s like the wild, wild west,” Simick said. “You can’t have four LCBOs on the same street, but you can have four cannabis stores.”

Georgina has 11 cannabis shops registered with the AGCO and one on reserve lands. That’s one pot shop for every 3,900 residents -- one of the highest per capita rates for pot shops -- compared to one LCBO store for every 11,900 residents with only four locations in town.

There are 13 pot shops either open or in progress in Aurora and another nine in Whitchurch-Stouffville -- the two other municipalities in the region that allows cannabis shops.

In Bradford West Gwillimbury, there are six pot shops, all of which are authorized to open. That means there’s one cannabis shop for every 4,700 Aurora residents, one for every 5,500 Whitchurch-Stouffville residents and one for every 7,100 Bradford West Gwillimbury residents.

“The market is in its infancy,” Simick said.

“If you have too many coffee shops, at some point some are going to close and some are going to stay open. Then you’re going to have the right amount to support the community’s needs.”