Gone to jar: Marijuana deficiency pest Canada
TORONTO (AP) – The name of the store is High North, but it may also be called High and Dry because for all but about four hours in the first two weeks since marijuana was legalized in Canada, there was no pot to sell .
Trevor Tobin, one of the owners of Labrador City Shop in Newfoundland and Labrador, said they went 10 straight days without supply.
"Manufacturers continue to say that there is some shock in the way, but right now there is no bump in the way. It's a big pistol," he said.
His mother, Brenda Tobin, is a shareholder and said that after she tells customers that there is nothing to buy, many of them say, "Oh, I suppose it's back to the black market." 39; "
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Legalization arrived on October 17th, and Canada became the world's largest national marketplace for so-called recreational marijuana. But for now it's just a superlative.
The first few weeks have felt more like a soft opening with few retailers operating and massive supply shortages. It's not because Canada can not produce enough cannabis products – licensing of the manufacturers has been slow and the federal government takes steps to speed up the process.
The provinces handle the sale and most of the regulations. Reports from all over the country are nevertheless dissuasive in terms of supply.
Quebec closed its published stores for three days a week due to lack of pot and will continue to keep them closed Mondays until Wednesdays until availability stabilizes. Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries said that product shortages in both brick and online stores could last six months.
Ontario, Canada's most populous province, will not have any shops open until April as early as the new Conservative Government writes regulations. However, the police have turned off at least 11 illegal dispensers in the province.
Ontario residents who want to make legitimate purchases flood the online store. At least 150,000 orders arrived in the first week, more than all other provinces combined, and the store can not continue.
Contributing to the delivery issue is a strike of workers at Canada Post, the nation's postal service that handles online marijuana orders that are legally nationwide.
British Columbia, the third largest province by population, and a place historically supplied by much of the country's illegal grass, still has a store.
In Canada, people return to the black market. And some never left.
Corey Stone, a 32-year-old bar-restaurant manager in Montreal, and his friend was first in line with Quebec's state-run cannabis store on October 17, but he has not returned due to supply problems and has gotten his pot illegally.
In the capital of Ottawa, Ontario Capital Buds is one of the last holdouts after most illegal dispensers in the city were closed on October 16, allowing them to film for legally operating licenses. The business flourishes – at 11 o'clock on a recent cool gray day, the waiting room was packed.
Blake Murchison, 62, was among the customers. He did not try to visit the government's online store.
"Why? It's a post attack!" He added. "I'm not patient. It's a matter of convenience, really." Or inconvenience. "
Devyn Stackhouse, a 30-year-old student at Ottawa's Algonquin College, went to the government's website 17th October and placed two orders for five pre-rolled joints and one gram each of four cannabis strains. After waiting more than a week to get a delivery, Stackhouse went to an illegal dispensation.
"If the government was serious about access, serious about losing the black market, more resources would be assigned to the OCS," Stackhouse said, referring to the Ontario Cannabis Store website.
In Newfoundland, 25-year-old technician Elwood White has been in three legal stores and found little selection. He said that marijuana is more expensive but better quality.
"It definitely has a better buzz," he said.
Private and public dealers rely on licensed manufacturers to send them products. But so far, of 132 marijuana manufacturers approved by Health Canada, only 78 have sales licenses.
FSD Pharma Inc., an Ontario-based producer, received a growing license a year ago, but is still waiting for a sales license. [19659002] "There is a lot of red tape," said Dr. Raza Bokhari, co-chairman and interim CEO of FSD Pharma. "Some of the obstacles are unnecessary. It's quite heavy."
Many who got sales licenses are less operations, "said Cam Battley, a top manager at Aurora Cannabis Inc., one of Canada's major manufacturers.
Health Canada has employed 300 additional employees to evaluate applications for manufacturers. Thierry Belair, spokesman for Canada's health minister, said the government has streamlined the licensing process and production is increasing.
"The implementation of the new justice system that better protects Canadians is not an event, it's a process," Belair said in an email. "The demand for some strains may be more important than for others, but … We are sure that the industry is well positioned to deliver product as a consumer transition to the legal market."
The unrestrictions have been felt on Canada's financial markets.
Aurora share price lost about half of the value since peaked at $ 15.16 per share Canadian (US $ 11.68), but Battley remains optimistic.
He recognized some companies with sales licenses stumbled upon getting their products to the provinces among the requirements that peaked expectations. But Battley said that high demand is good and customers who have got what they wanted were satisfied.
"Many have bought nondescript cannabis in a baggy and who knows how it was grown." He said. "When they get a hold of professionally grown cannabis and value-added products like pre-rolls and capsules, they are quite darned satisfied."
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Lindeman reported from Ottawa. Associated Press author Jim Morris in Vancouver, British Columbia, contributed to this report.
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