Kitchener to talk pot store location with province Tuesday

The City of Kitchener will be discussing with provincial officials about the location of the official pot store and"topics of local concern" on Tuesday, Nov. 14.

LCBO and the Ministries of Finance and Municipal Affairs announced they will visit the 14 cities in Ontario selected to get the first provincial cannabis stores when sales become legal on July 1, 2018.

• Cities fight for legal marijuana revenue as Ottawa reveals minimum $1 per gram tax

Gloria MacNeil, director of bylaw enforcementwith the City of Kitchener, told CBC News the province has provided an overview of next week's discussion,including guidelines for locations, public notification andthe social responsibility measures.

"It's also an opportunity to discuss with them any of the municipalities' priorities in regards to where some of these store locations may be," said MacNeil.

The province has already saidthe stores will not be close to schools.

• Kitchener to get one of Ontario's first cannabis stores next summer
• Cannabis activists prepare to fight for changes to evolving legalization laws
• Canada made marijuana illegal 94 years ago and no one's sure why

Ontario outlined its expectations forretail distribution once it becomes legal next year:

• Start online distributionacross the province by July 2018.
• Open about 40 standalone cannabis stores by July 2018.
• Open 80 stores by July 1, 2019 and 150 stores by 2020.

The province recently met with officials in London, another city to get a store next summer, to discuss the cannabis strategy.