Most northeners will have a drive ahead of them if they plan on purchasing legalized marijuana in person on April 1st.

A lottery is set to take place later this week for the first 25 cannabis retailers in Ontario, with two being selected for the ‘North Region’.

That includes: Nipissing, Parry Sound, Sudbury, Greater Sudbury, Timiskaming, Cochrane, Algoma, Thunder Bay, Rainy River and Kenora.

Potential cannabis retailers, including locally, can submit their expressions of interest to Ontario’s Alcohol and Gaming Commission starting today (Monday).

The deadline is Wednesday, with the lottery taking place on Friday.

Here is the full breakdown for store numbers (25) provincially:
East Region: (Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry, Prescott and Russell, Ottawa, Leeds and Grenville, Lanark, Frontenac, Lennox and Addington, Hastings, Prince Edward, Northumberland, Peterborough, Kawartha Lakes, Simcoe, Muskoka, Haliburton, Renfrew): five (5) stores;
GTA Region: (Durham, York, Peel and Halton): six (6) stores;
North Region: (Nipissing, Parry Sound, Sudbury, Greater Sudbury, Timiskaming, Cochrane, Algoma, Thunder Bay, Rainy River, Kenora): two (2) stores;
Toronto Region: five (5) stores; and,
West Region: (Dufferin-Wellington, Hamilton, Niagara, Haldimand-Norfolk, Brant, Waterloo, Perth, Oxford, Elgin, Chatham-Kent, Essex, Lambton, Middlesex, Huron, Bruce, Grey, Manitoulin): seven (7) stores.

File photo THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

Filed under: legalized cannabis, north bay