Canada Nearly Runs Out of Weed After Legalization

Emma Hinchliffe

<p>Canada can&#8217;t keep up with demand for newly legal weed. Four days after the country put marijuana legalization into effect nationally, retail shops are nearly sold out.</p><div class="paywall-selector"></div><div class="paywall">
<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s a mess. The supply is just a mess,&#8221; Patrick Wallace, owner of the Alberta shop Waldo&#8217;s 420 Store, <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/alberta-cannabis-shortage-1.4871564" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told CBC</a>.</p>
<p>Canada&#8217;s Parliament voted to legalize marijuana in June, and that decision <a href="https://fortune.com/2018/10/16/canada-legalizes-marijuana/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">went into effect</a> on Wednesday, with differing rules across Canada&#8217;s provinces. The newly legal industry is expected to be worth $6.5 billion in annual sales.</p>
<p>The problem started on the first day of legalization, when customers across Quebec, Saskatchewan, Canada&#8217;s Northwest Territories, Newfoundland, and online shops all had trouble securing legal weed, <a href="https://www.vice.com/en_ca/article/evw99z/canada-is-already-experiencing-cannabis-shortages?" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Vice reported. </a></p>
<p>Stores selling marijuana are issued licenses to do so, but even those licensed shops haven&#8217;t been able to access enough supply when it&#8217;s time to reorder. Orders storeowners placed have in some cases only contained part of what was requested, and demand for that limited supply has far exceeded expectations.</p>
<p>&#8220;We were on the website, but there is nothing on the website. There is no product,&#8221; Karen Barry of Calgary&#8217;s Beltline Cannabis told CBC. &#8220;I&#8217;m sure the [Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis Commission] is working hard to remedy the problem.&#8221;</p>
<p>Some stores have closed up shop until the supply problem is fixed, posting &#8220;out of stock&#8221; signs.</p>
<p>Even in September, when early license holders were able to preorder the soon-to-be-legal product, supply was a problem. Wallace told CBC that of 300 advertised products, only 70 were available at the time. Shops just getting their licenses now are facing an even worse shortage.</p>
<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s day four of legalization &#8230; and nobody has all the answers right now,&#8221; AGLC spokeswoman Heather Holmen told CBC.</p></div>

Canadian marijuana shops are running out of weed after marijuana legalization went into effect this week.

Canada Nearly Runs Out of Weed After Marijuana Legalization

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"There is no product," cannabis storeowners say.

Canada Nearly Runs Out of Weed After Marijuana Legalization | Fortune

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