First cannabis store in Mississauga opens

Mississauga residents looking to get a little high need no longer trek outside the city to legally buy their bud.

Pop’s Cannabis opened the doors to its 26th location in the Clarkson Crossing Mall on May 26. The opening comes a little more than a month after city council voted 8-4 to repeal a longstanding ban on pot shops in the city on Apr. 19.

When Cannabis was legalized across Canada in 2018, Mississauga stood as the largest municipality in Canada to continue to deny stores the ability to operate within their borders. Several councillors wanted the city to wield specialized regulations to permit the shops.

Council was initially concerned stores would cluster and fill neighbourhoods. As a result, they wanted more control over zoning. However, the Ontario government, granted control of the market by the Federal legislation, maintained that municipalities were not to interfere in the businesses. Eventually, the council learned the market quickly corrects over saturation on its own from watching other municipalities.

As a result, Mississauga elected not to have them at all, even as its neighbouring municipalities allowed them, for nearly five years. Mere weeks after the change, the city received several applications including two from Pop’s Cannabis.

The Clarkson location was the first accepted, but the second location at 1125 Bloor St. E. is expected to quickly follow on June 2.

1. Pop’s Cannabis