Challenging the illicit cannabis market: Mississauga City Council approves legal cannabis retail stores

City of Mississauga's decision aligns with the three main goals of legalization, says Dr. Daniel Bear

Thestar.com
May 1, 2023
Daniel Bear

Recently, Mississauga city council made the decision to allow legal cannabis retail stores in the city.

The move aligns with the three main goals of legalization; reduce the illicit market, keep cannabis out of the hands of young people, and educate people about the potential harms of cannabis while providing access to safe products.

The illicit cannabis market may never be fully eliminated, as we still have illegal tobacco and booze products, but banning retail stores in the city allowed illicit producers and sellers to flourish.

Allowing legal stores in Mississauga presents a real challenge to the illicit market as 66 per cent of Canadian cannabis consumers report their primary way of purchasing cannabis is from legal storefronts.

Unsurprisingly, people prefer legal cannabis when it’s available. Who wouldn’t want to know the strength of their edible or that their cannabis was inspected for mould?

Now people can access cannabis as part of their normal errands. Get some milk, pick up a prescription, and grab some edibles for a movie night with your spouse.

To some people, that sounds horrifying. They don’t want a cannabis store in their neighbourhood. But I have to ask, why?

The stores are not associated with any rise in crime. They’re serving the 27 to 30 per cent of people in your neighbourhood who consume cannabis, and they’re ensuring people who consume have access to safe, well-regulated products.

They’re bringing tax revenue into the province while ensuring only adults can access their products. They’re creating jobs.

Some research even suggests that the presence of a cannabis store is related to increases in home prices and decreases in drug-related harm. Cannabis consumption could potentially even serve as a substitute for alcohol consumption, which costs Canadians $14.6 billion in societal harm every year.

If these arguments don’t convince you that retail stores are good for Mississauga, I’m probably never going to convince you. It’s likely you just don’t like cannabis. And that’s fine. But do you dislike cannabis so much that you’d prefer it was sold illicitly? I suspect not, and I’m glad to see that Mississauga has come to this decision.