Mayor Tory has declared a need to control the illegal pot dispensaries that are popping up in Toronto like dandelions in the Spring. The consulting firm Canadian cannabis brands says there are 100 stores as of today and there are 21 more moments away from opening. It produced the interactive map above. None of them are legal. Many have rib-tickling names and all offer brain soothing smoking material. Mr. Medicinal, Sticky Stems, Green Wagon, HempClub and who knows what else. They populate streets where they might never have been expected, even if legal. Avenue Road, Mt. Pleasant, Lawrence and the Allen, The Danforth — they are everywhere. Speaking with reporters Monday, Tory said the appearance of marijuana dispensaries with heavy concentrations is some neighbourhoods is like a crisis. “This can’t continue on this basis,” Tory said regarding the budding of the new businesses. City News says Vancouver councillor Kerry Jang is calling on Toronto to adapt his city’s dispensary licensing system. The bylaw, which was approved last June, is about “taking back our storefronts, controlling the situation that saw businesses selling and promoting marijuana sales to kids and stores opening near schools,” Jang says.
