[ad_1]
TORONTO – The three surveillance cameras and the constant flow of people into and out of the indefinable gray building are the only sign of the dynamic activity that this downtown Toronto cannabis clinic has behind closed doors.
Once inside, two men behind a white desk under an old chandelier ask customers to provide a piece of government ID and fill out a membership form. Customers are then allowed to enter another room through a steel door, where various potted products are displayed in a shop window.
When asked what had changed since the legalization of Canada on October 17, a staff member said, "We are busier than ever."
On Thursday, a fourth-year university student said he preferred to buy at this clinic to avoid the delivery problems that are hurting the province's cannabis store. In addition, he did not want the transaction to appear in his bank records.
"It's too complicated … it's a matter of convenience to me," he said.
It has been almost a month since the jar was legalized across Canada, and despite local police raids and government warnings to illegal pottery operators to close their doors or suffer the consequences, the black market continues.
Product shortages, delivery delays and other issues during the deployment have not helped, said Martin Landry, an analyst at GMP Securities.
"That was not perfect … And probably, the black market abandonment did not happen as quickly as expected, but I think it's short-term." "
On October 17, Canada legalized cannabis for recreational purposes, with the elimination of the black market being one of the main goals of the Liberal government.
It was not expected to disappear quickly, as the illicit market survived in US states like Colorado and Oregon years after the pot was legalized.
Statistics Canada estimates that in the fourth quarter of this year, 5.4 million people will want to buy legal cannabis and 1.7 million will continue to buy illicit pot across Canada. Potted spending over this period could range from $ 816 million to $ 1.1 billion, while illegal cannabis purchases could range from $ 254 million to $ 317 million, according to the agency.
However, for users to change illegal sources, the legal offer must be competitive or not.
At the same time, in addition to the limited quantities of legal pot products, the sale of edible products infused with cannabis is prohibited until 2019.
In Ontario, where privately managed brick-and-mortar stores will only be ready next April, and in British Columbia, which has only one government-run marijuana store, illicit stores continue to attract a customer base.
Weeds Glass and Gifts stores in Vancouver are "very busy right now," said owner Don Briere.
Its chain of stores in Vancouver benefits from the closure of other illicit dispensaries, but also from the fact that the only legal store in British Columbia is located more than 350 kilometers away in Kamloops, British Columbia.
"How are you going to serve five million people in British Columbia with a store that's nowhere near the population center?" Briere said in an interview.
Briere has closed nine of its stores across the country, but provides online services to its customers and maintains its four stores open in Vancouver pending the outcome of the ongoing litigation.. Other clinics have also decided to keep their doors open pending the processing of their permit applications.
Nevertheless, the harsher penalties under the cannabis law as of October 17, which include a first fine of up to $ 250,000 and a term of imprisonment of up to six years. months, coupled with the possibility of being placed on a blacklist for opting for legal retail options, have prompted several shut down.
For example, the Green Room Society dispensary at Spadina Avenue in Toronto contains white paper covering glass doors and windows. In the window, written on the black marker paper, it says, "Come up on April 1st."
The Ontario government warned a few days before the legalization that black market operators should close or risk being banned from obtaining a legal retail license in the province's private system.
Matt Maurer, a partner at Torkin Manes and vice-president of the company's Cannabis Group, has also lobbied homeowners in Ontario to allow them to exploit their properties on their properties.
Across the country, other law enforcement forces forced law enforcement forces to end their activities.
In Port Alberni, British Columbia, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police raided two do-it-yourself stores on the day of legalization due to lack of provincial permits. A day later, police and inspectors from the Newfoundland and Labrador Liquor Corporation raided a clinic in St. John's.
Prior to legalization, there were 92 illegal cannabis showcases in Toronto on October 16, according to Bruce Hawkins, spokesman for the city's municipal licensing and standards department. This number was reduced to 21 on November 6, due to voluntary closures or by the city and the police, he added.
Maurer was approached the year before legalization and then by the owners of dispensaries seeking a license to operate a legitimate cannabis business because the risk of being an illegal operator is increased, he said.
After legalization, provincial and territorial governments have every reason to shut down illegal pottery shops, he said.
"Every sale in an illegal clinic is another dollar that does not go to the provincial government," said Maurer. "So, why would they tolerate this any longer?"
– With records of Liam Casey
Armina Ligaya, Canadian Press
[ad_2]
Source link
