Businesses and customers across the country are gearing up for the legalization of recreational marijuana on October 17.
There’s just one problem: most potential customers don’t know where to buy it.
A new survey released Monday by Lift & Co. found that 58 percent of Canadians don’t know where to buy recreational marijuana legally.
The poll surveyed 1,510 Canadians September 5-6. The highest rate of confusion was in Manitoba. Here 73 percent of residents said they didn’t know where to buy it. The Atlantic provinces had the lowest rate, with only 44 percent saying they were unsure.
It’s Not All Blunts and Bongs in Canada Post Legalization
While marijuana will be made legal federally, the control of the substance is regulated by provinces and municipalities. This is leaving many residents confused. Provinces have opted for various models of control, ranging from private business sales, government-run store sales, or a mix of the two.
In Ontario, marijuana purchases will be restricted to online only until April 2019. B.C. announced this weekend that it will only have one brick-and-mortar location selling cannabis on October 17, and it’s located in Kamloops.
Meanwhile in Alberta, the province has received nearly 700 applications for private stores. It’s unclear how many will be ready come October, but City of Calgary official Matt Zabloski told the Calgary Herald that he expects a “good number” of applications to be ready October 17.
All provinces have elected to have an online retail model, and all but Ontario also plan to have at least one brick-and-mortar sales option by the legalization date.
Most Canadians didn’t know where to purchase cannabis on October 17th of 2018. This is the official day when it became legal across all of Canada. This might have been a good thing considering that on October 17th of 2018 Canada saw a weed shortage. Some dispensaries ended up closing their doors and remaining closed for several days. Many are still waiting to fully restock their shelves from provincial suppliers. The best guess is that it will take 1- 1.5 years before supply will meet demand. Learn more about the age breakdown as well as which provinces supported cannabis the most in this informative infographic.
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