Sudbury to open two weed stores

Two retail cannabis stores will open its doors to the public in northern Ontario this April, and both of those stores will be in Sudbury.

Highlife will open on Marcus Drive in the Silver Hills area of Greater Sudbury, while a second location, Canna Cabana Sudbury, will open on Long Lake Road in the city’s south end.     

The two cannabis retail store locations in northern Ontario were selected during the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) Expression of Interest Lottery in early January, where the AGCO used the lottery to allott 25 licences for cannabis retail stores across Ontario.

According to the AGCO, a temporary cap of 25 stores was implemented in order to address ongoing cannabis supply issues.

There's no word on when that cap will be lifted. 

"We know that putting out 25 stores, which is the amount of cannabis that we can guarantee receiving, is the right way to go," Finance Minister Vic Fedeli told The Canadian Press back in January. "This is only temporary. Once the federal government can guarantee a better supply then we know we'll begin to issue more licences as we go along."

The licence lottery was divided into five regions, spanning all of Ontario.

Just two licences were allotted by the province for all of northeastern and northwestern regions of Ontario.

In mid-January, Sault Ste. Marie city council voted to not opt out of allowing for cannabis retail in the municipality, albeit with some restrictions on where cannabis can be sold within city limits.

- with files from Sudbury.com and David Helwig