Advocates say black market will thrive until small pot growers and sellers are included
Illegal pot shops remained open across Canada
Wednesday, October 17, 2018
“It’s not fair to expect the government to deliver everything perfectly Day 1 when this is a huge transition,” said Ian Dawkins, president of the Cannabis Commerce Association of Canada. “But let’s be realistic, these (illegal) retailers were very sophisticated retail enterprises in line with what you would see in a place like Colorado and Washington. ... All of that sophistication is about to be blown out of the window by a tidal wave of Budweiser-grade cannabis.” It’s not only dispensaries that feel shut out of the legal market as small-scale growers are still waiting for the federal government to open an application portal for micro-cultivator licences. (See also: B.C. RCMP raid two cannabis dispensaries in first apparent crackdown after legalization)
