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For 2019, Boswell said Halton police are report- ing no significant in- creases in charges relat- ed to cannabis; however, they said there was a no- table increase in canna- bis-related charges against young persons. Multiple councillors asked staff questions about minors accessing cannabis through retail stores and whether that was an issue. Boswell noted this in- formation is not current-formation is not current-f ly available because can- nabis retail stores have only been functioning in Ontario for a matter of months. Town staff were also unable to answer ques- tions about the impact cannabis stores had on local black markets and whether communities with cannabis stores saw increased cannabis use. "Most of the residents here had a couple of fears -- that youth arefears -- that youth aref going to have easier ac- cess and that it is going to be more prevalent where it wasn't before. I just don't see anything in the past year that speaks to any of those issues," said Ward 1 Coun. Sean O'Meara. "I'm curious as to how we are supposed to make a decision tonight with- out the information that many residents were ex- pecting after a year." Council heard from seven resident delega- tions on the issue, with four calling on the townfour calling on the townf to keep cannabis retail stores out of Oakville and three directing council- lors to let them in. Area resident Xiao- feng Xu voiced concernsfeng Xu voiced concernsf about the introduction of cannabis stores resulting in increased cannabis use by children and pointed out that if Oak- ville does allow these stores to take root there is no going back. Others questioned the financial viability offinancial viability off these stores and whether they would be good ten- ants for local landlords. Another woman ex- pressed her belief that the cheaper price of ille- gal marijuana has result- ed in no decline in canna- bis sold on the black mar- ket in communities with cannabis stores. Melody Yang Xu, who said she represented 144 of her neighbours, was worried the cannabis stores would lead to more cannabis use in the com- munity and result in more impaired driving. "The bottom line is Oakville cannot take this risk," she said. "Opening cannabis re- tail stores is not going to make the town great." Chris Kowalchuk ar- gued marijuana is not what is hurting society. He said the real danger to local youth comes from prescription medica- tions, particularly opioids, which are being stolen from their parents or purchased illegally. Another resident, who makes use of medicinal marijuana, said alcohol does far more damage than cannabis and point- ed out liquor stores and bars are everywhere. "I believe cannabis should be looked at not as a drug but as medicine," he said. "If that is going to help relieve you of your pain, why should you not have access to it?" With the delegations heard, the majority of council voted to defer a decision on the matter for one year. They also voted to send comments to the province, which is en- gaged in consultations with municipalities re- garding the expansion of cannabis business oppor- tunities, including the sale of cannabis for con- sumption in cafés/loung- es and at special events. Council said these things should not be per- mitted in communities that have banned canna- bis retail stores. STORY BEHIND THE STORY: Cannabis and whether cannabis retail stores will be allowed to operate in Oakville has been a subject of great interest to many residents. With that in mind we attended a special council meeting where this subject was discussed and lis- tened to resident delega- tions both for and against these retail stores. Continued from page 12 "We are still in an opt-out position but need additional time for staff to gather more details about the industry as well as the pros and cons of retail operations." - Oakville Mayor Rob Burton. SIGN UP FOR OUR WEEKLY NEWSLETTER AT INSIDEHALTON.COM