Shortage of cannabis in Quebec, one week after legalization

CANADA – A little over a week after the legalization of recreational cannabis in Canada, shops, stormed by consumers, will have to close three days a week in Quebec because of a stock-out, announced Friday. October the public monopoly of sale.

"Because of the issues of supply, our branches will be open from Thursday to Sunday only, depending on the hours of operation," said the Quebec Society of Cannabis (SQDC) on Twitter. "Our branches will therefore be closed on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays until the availability of products has stabilized," said the SQDC.

This measure should help "serve our customers better" by avoiding "as much as possible to move unnecessarily". On October 17, the SQDC inaugurated its first twelve stores in Quebec, open Monday to Friday from 10 am to 9 pm and Saturdays and Sundays from 10 am to 5 pm.

Shortages of legal cannabis were planned in Canada

That day, Canada became the second country in the world to legalize recreational cannabis after Uruguay. On Wednesday, the Quebec government agency acknowledged that "the excitement of the first days has created pressure" on its sales network. After a week of operation, it recorded 138,150 orders, of which 84,500 were in the branch, the rest online.

This "demand is in line with forecasts," added the SQDC in a statement, while admitting that "the producers will (…) a colossal work to be done to structure the supply". Canadians' enthusiasm for recreational cannabis persists and causes shortages in all provinces and territories across the country.

The SQDC predicts that "this situation persists at different levels for the first quarters of operation". Even before legalization, the independent C. D. Howe Institute for Economic Analysis had anticipated these shortages by estimating that the approximately 120 cannabis producers authorized by the Canadian government would fill only 30% to 60% of demand in the first year.

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