Weed woes: Canada struggles to meet huge demand for legal cannabis
Numerous stores dealing with empty shelves and disgruntled customers, with fears many consumers will turn to black market
Sunday, November 4, 2018
Two weeks after Canada became the first G20 country to legalize cannabis amid much fanfare, numerous stores – both physical and digital – are struggling to meet high demand. In much of the country, the legal supply of marijuana has dried up. “The shortages are happening faster than I would have expected, but our research suggested quite strongly that there would be shortages in the first year of legalization,” said Rosalie Wyonch, a policy analyst at the CD Howe Institute. A mix of regulatory frameworks, retail chain distribution and logistical kinks – including postal strikes – have created fertile ground for the shortages. When Colorado legalized recreational cannabis, it took three years for supply to finally catch up to demand, and Canada could expect a similar delay.
