Belleville is one of just six Eastern Ontario cities eligible to have businesses approved for one of a handful of recreational marijuana retail licences this week.
The Ontario Government has announced it will only give out 25 of those licences through its first round of distribution and that those recipients will be determined by a lottery taking place this Friday, January 11.
The lottery will be run by the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario and will be overseen by consulting firm KPMG, with only towns having a population of more than 50,000 being eligible.
That means in the “east region” only Belleville, Kingston, Ottawa, Peterborough, Kawartha Lakes and Barrie are eligible for one of five permits.
The results will be released by the AGCO within 24 hours of the draw.
The city still has to vote on allowing retail marijuana outlets within its boundaries.
