LCBO begins scouting pot shop locations in Kitchener

The LCBO is currently scouting locations for the Kitchener marijuana dispensary, which is set to open next summer.

Staff from the Ministry of Finance and the LCBO met with officials from the City of Kitchener and Waterloo Regional Police on Tuesday to talk pot.

Gloria MacNeil, the city's director of bylaw enforcement, said the meeting gave them a chance to offer some criteria they'd like to see, including having it located near an expressway or transit hub, that it have enough parking and that it not be near schools.

The LCBO now has a real estate broker looking for locations for the store, said MacNeil. 

"This broker's going to go scout locations that he thinks would work with some of those considerations we've given them," she said.

'Need to move fairly quickly'

"Once they've got some locations identified, then they're going to reconnect with us to set up another meeting and give us the proposed locations and get some feedback," MacNeil said.

"We don't have specific timelines. They did say today that they need to move fairly quickly because they figure they're going to need to start construction in April in order to be up and running by July."

The province's website will also soon have a spot where the community can provide feedback on proposed locations, MacNeil said.

Kitchener is one of first 14 cities the province announced will have a marijuana dispensary next July when pot becomes legal across the country.