Queen’s Park is giving Ontario communities a say on where the LCBO-run marijuana stores can be located when recreational cannabis is legalized next July.

“Today, letters were sent to all municipalities in Ontario to share the next steps for establishing retail stores,” the provincial government said in a statement Friday.

“The process will be led by the LCBO, working closely with the government and local communities,” the government said.

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“Two primary considerations will be used to guide the identification of municipalities where stores will be located: to achieve geographic distribution of stores across the province; to reduce the number of illegal stores, including dispensaries, currently in operation.”

The standalone weed shops will not be co-located with existing Liquor Control Board of Ontario stores.

One key objective is to ensure they are “not … in close proximity to schools.”

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“The LCBO will utilize guidelines to identify specific store locations with the objective of ensuring that youth are protected and the illegal market is addressed.”

Once a prospective location has been identified by the LCBO, public notices will be posted online and at the planned storefront to allow for community feedback and allay local concerns.

That’s in stark contrast to the scores of illegal storefront “dispensaries” currently operating in cities like Toronto, some of which are located just steps from schools.

There will be 40 LCBO-operated stores up and running next July, rising to 80 by July 2019 and 150 across the province by 2020. The LCBO will also run online distribution.

“It is critical that in establishing a new, legal retail system for cannabis we protect our youth and combat the illegal market,” said Finance Minister Charles Sousa. “Municipalities are essential partners in our efforts to distribute cannabis across the province.”

Attorney General Yasir Naqvi promised that the government would work with municipal leaders to ensure “the needs and interests of communities are reflected in our safe and sensible approach to cannabis legalization.”

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Premier Kathleen Wynne has pledged to help municipalities with any of the additional costs legalized recreational cannabis could bring.

Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner said Wynne’s government is going about legalization the wrong way.

“The Liberals’ approach seems to ramp up criminalization of pot outside the government monopoly, which undermines the reasons for legalizing it in the first place,” said Schreiner.

“There is a better way — highly regulated and licensed local businesses to allow local farmers, small businesses and Indigenous groups to participate in the market, creating local jobs and contributing tax dollars to local communities across the province.”