After 17 years of hard work, Liquid Chrome will now wait for the luck of the draw to make history in the cannabis retail department.
The deadline was noon today to submit an application to the province for a retail operator licence to sell cannabis.
Businesses must now wait to find out if their name will be pulled in Friday’s lottery conducted by the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO).
Results of the draw are expected to be posted on the AGCO’s website within 24 hours.
The AGCO will be responsible for regulating cannabis stores in the province.
The first licences issued in the province will be phased in and limited to 25.
Liquid Chrome, located on Dunlop Street in downtown Barrie, is one of several businesses across Ontario to apply.
Assistant store manager Eric Batters tell BarrieToday that even though it’s been a long time, the day is finally here.
“We were able to apply yesterday for it and the process is a bit daunting and scrutinizing, but it is just like anything else where you just have to grin and bear it to work yourself through the process,” Batters said.
Entering its 17th year of business in the city, Liquid Chrome sells a variety of water-pipes and other paraphernalia, all of which are staples in the marijuana industry today.
Although Liquid Chrome has long fought the image of being a pot shop, Batters believes the times are changing and people are becoming more informed on the benefits of the new marijuana legalization laws, which came into effect Oct. 17, 2018.
“I think perception is the main battle you always face, but in this day and age it is definitely lessened,” Batters said. “It has for sure become easier over time, because it was certainly a struggle in the past.
“The law will absolutely need time to grow on people and maybe even grow and amend as things unfold, but that is part of the growing pains of any new industry,” he added.
The 25 stores that will receive licences initially will be split up into five regions.
Barrie falls into the east region, which also includes Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry, Prescott and Russell, Ottawa, Leeds and Grenville, Lanark, Frontenac, Lennox and Addington, Hastings, Prince Edward, Northumberland, Peterborough, Kawartha Lakes, Simcoe, Muskoka, Haliburton, Renfrew.
A maximum of five stores from the east region can win the lottery and it is possible that Barrie does not get a licensed business accepted at all.
The province has said the first licences will go to municipalities with populations of more than 50,000.
The City of Barrie still has to make a final decision on whether it will opt in to allowing retail cannabis shops in the municipality, but it is expected to do so. A final decision will be made at Monday’s city council meeting.
Municipalities have until Jan. 22 to opt out.
