WINDSOR

More questions than answers about legalized marijuana

CTV Windsor Published Friday, September 21, 2018 10:40PM EDT

A man smokes a marijuana joint during the annual 4/20 marijuana celebration on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on April 20, 2018. A federal bill to legalize recreational cannabis was bounced back to the Senate on Monday, where the government's representative argued it's time to get on with lifting Canada's almost century-old prohibition on marijuana. The House of Commons voted 205-82 to reject 13 amendments passed by Senate, including one which would have authorized provinces to prohibit home cultivation of marijuana plants if they choose. Senators now have to decide whether to defer to the will of the elected government or insist on some or all of their amendments, digging in for a protracted parliamentary battle. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

Text:

Officials with the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit are looking for some clarity on managing recreational cannabis when it becomes legal next month.

The chair of the health unit board, Gary McNamara, says there has been little insight to how municipal outlets like police and bylaw officers should enforce rules and regulations.

In fact, McNamara thinks it could take a couple years before enforcement issues and retail sales get worked out.

Recreational cannabis will be regulated by the Ontario Alcohol and Gaming Commission but McNamara tells CTV News the health unit and municipalities have not received any regulations yet.

“We're going to have to find a way to manage this particular issue,” says McNamara, the Mayor of Tecumseh. “I look at it like a runaway train that's coming and we haven't figured out how to stop it yet or at least manage it, and that's a big piece."

The Ontario Cannabis Store, which will be Ontario's only online retailer when recreational marijuana is legalized Oct. 17, says it will sell a variety of products.

The Progressive Conservative's new plan to have cannabis sold through a private retail model is a contrast to the Liberals plan for a provincial government monopoly on cannabis sales.

The province was to operate 150 brick-and-mortar stores by 2020, but the new plan means sales at physical stores won't start until April 2019.

The legal age to buy recreational cannabis will remain 19.