Mississauga’s long-standing prohibition on legal cannabis stores could be lifted as early as next week.

The GTA city is among the 64 Ontario municipalities that opted out of hosting pot shops when marijuana became legal in 2018.

A motion to change that will need full approval by Mississauga City Council which is expected on April 19th.

And if approved, cannabis advocate Omar Khan says there are mechanisms in place to ensure the city isn’t over run with legal pot shops.

“The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario has an online portal. Anyone looking to set up a cannabis store can see who else has applied for a license in that same area, so that’s a very good tool right now that’s available that has already begun to eliminate this issue of clustering and will continue and mitigate it going forward,” Khan explained to CP24.

A City of Mississauga staff report suggests residents of Ontario’s third largest city are currently disproportionately served by the illegal cannabis market.

Under provincial legislation, municipalities which have opted out of legal cannabis stores may opt in at any time, but once they do, there is be no opportunity to revisit the decision.