Two more communities in Essex County have voted to open the door to retail cannabis sales.

The Town of Essex voted Monday night to opt-in, an hour before Town of Kingsville councillors unanimously voted in favour of allowing brick and mortar pot stores.

Kingsville councillors cited a recent survey completed by the town in which 63 per cent of respondents indicated they favoured the "opt-in" option.

The town is home to a number of marijuana greenhouse operations.

Neither Kingsville nor Essex meet the population requirement established by the Ontario government to qualify for a pot store -- when 25 locations across the province are licensed April 1.

Because it will likely be some time before either town hosts a store, Kingsville councillor Tony Gaffan says "this will allow time" to watch it roll out in other centres.

"We're open for business and it's important to be open for business and this way we have an opportunity to see where it would fit in and we have probably a couple good years before it would even be possible in Kingsville,” Gaffan said after the meeting. “It's good for us to give the opportunity to look at how other cities are doing it and maybe having those areas where we can designate and encourage them to go."

Essex Mayor Larry Snively tells CTV Windsor it was a difficult decision for him.

“I never made my decision until about two hours before the meeting,” says Snively, “I really struggled with this.”

Essex councillor Steve Bjorkman says when a pot shop does open in the community, they will need some assistance from the provincial government.

“We’re going to need funding to help with our police services, many things we will have that are going to cost us,” says Bjorkman. “Because none of this legislation comes with funding from the provincial government so those costs need to be paid for somewhere. “

To date, Lakeshore, LaSalle and Tecumseh have opted out, while Essex and Kingsville join Leamington and Pelee Island in by opting in.

Chatham-Kent has also opted-in for cannabis retail sales.

Windsor and Amherstburg will both render a decision the day before the Jan. 22 deadline and their next respective council meeting.