In just a few short months, Canada will become the latest country to legalize marijuana nationwide. Following years of planning, the provincial and federal governments have been working rigorously to ensure that this major transition will happen as smoothly as possible.
Most of the logistics around this impending legalization have been figured out; however, there are still some urban centres who have yet to come up with some concrete measures to safely and effectively distribute marijuana in their sector.
Surprisingly, one of these cities who have yet to figure out how they will integrate marijuana into the community is Ottawa, which is also the nation's capital. The Ottawa Citizen reports how city planners are asking the Ontario Cannabis Retail Corporation to effectively avoid opening dispensaries in areas that are "experiencing socio-economic stress."
If officials are granted their wishes, citizens of Ottawa will not be able to purchase marijuana in areas that are deemed to be economically unstable. The Citizen has revealed that city staff have declined to elaborate on this notion, which is leaving civilians quite angry that disadvantaged areas may potentially be snubbed from the forthcoming rollout of legalized marijuana. Some individuals took to Twitter to voice their concerns over this proposed plan of action:
However, Ottawa isn't the only Canadian city to propose such ideas, as officials from Quebec have similarly questioned whether or not it is appropriate to open marijuana dispensaries in poorer neighbourhoods.