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 per cent 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, where 73 per cent of residents said they didn’t know where to buy it. The Atlantic provinces had the lowest rate, with only 44 per cent saying they were unsure.
While marijuana will be made legal federally, the control of the substance will be regulated by the provinces and municipalities, 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.
