The Christian Science Monitor

As Canada legalizes cannabis, concerns mount over challenges, uncertainties

Oakville Mayor Rob Burton wants cannabis retail stores banned from his community, which he calls a "family town." He says the town is better off opting out during this experimental stage, but may opt in later.

At a coffee shop off the pretty main street of Oakville, an affluent community just southwest of Toronto on Lake Ontario, Mayor Rob Burton points to the table to his right where a mother and two young boys laugh together over a computer screen. On the patio outside, young mothers have parked their strollers as they sip on lattes.

“This is a family town,” says Mr. Burton.

And that’s why he says if he is re-elected this fall, he plans to initially ban retail cannabis shops in Oakville, after cannabis becomes legal for recreational use next month. This very chain, Second Cup, announced plans to convert some of their locations

Worried about the unknowns‘We'll watch them work it out’

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