Cannabis in Mississauga

Legal age

19+

Public possession

30 g dried (or equivalent)

Tax at the till

13% HST on top of federal excise duty

Store hours

9 a.m.–11 p.m. max (AGCO)

Delivery

Store staff only, to a residence, 9 a.m.–11 p.m.; online sales via OCS

Local status

Opted in April 19, 2023 (Resolution 0103-2023)

Consumption lounges

None licensed in Ontario

Mississauga is the rare big Ontario city that spent more than four years with no legal cannabis store at all. Council opted out in January 2019, then voted 8–4 on April 19, 2023 to let AGCO-authorized stores open. The count Verdex shows today, 66 stores, was built almost entirely since mid-2023.

Why did Mississauga have no legal stores until 2023?

Ontario gave municipalities a one-time chance to opt out of private retail before January 22, 2019, and Mississauga took it. A later city staff report found residents were disproportionately served by the illicit market without local stores, which pushed the 2023 reversal. Once a city opts in, the decision is final under Ontario law, so the city cannot close the door again.

What the city controls, and what it doesn't

Very little sits with the city. The AGCO issues and renews store authorizations and enforces the rules; the city can comment on applications during the public notice period but cannot set its own caps. Provincial rules keep stores at least 150 metres from schools, as measured by the AGCO. Several councillors raised clustering concerns during the 2023 debate, and the AGCO rules contain no minimum distance between two cannabis stores, so pairs of stores on the same plaza strip are legal.

Flying out of Pearson with cannabis

Toronto Pearson sits inside Mississauga's boundaries. Canadian rules let adults carry up to 30 g on domestic flights, but taking cannabis across any international border, including to the United States, is illegal, whatever the rules at your destination.

Buying legally in a city new to legal retail

Because legal stores arrived late, older unlicensed delivery services and storefronts built a following in Peel before 2023. An authorized store posts its AGCO authorization, sells only products with the Health Canada excise stamp and checks ID for anyone who looks under 25. Check a seller against the Verdex Red List of flagged sellers and the AGCO store map before you order, read what to bring and ask on a first dispensary visit if it's your first visit, and see Ontario cannabis rules and ratings for province-wide rules. Unsure how cannabis fits with medication or driving? Try the cannabis use check.