In its first day of legalized recreational weed, Canada already encountered some problems with reports of shortages and technical issues throughout the country, according to The Globe and Mail. Gary Symons, communications director for one retailer in Winnipeg, said that they had 100 orders within the first minute of what was being referred to Weed Wednesday, sold $50,000 of their product in the first hour, and were out of stock by the early morning. The marijuana delivery service Delta 9 reported delays that lasted several hours.
Vic Neufeld, chief executive of Aphria Inc., a company based in Leamington, Ontario, admits that they're trying to remain on good terms with their provincial regulators, but "we’re not meeting expectations," adding that "nobody is." Thomas Clarke, who is in charge of THC Distribution in Portugal Cove-St Philip’s, echoed a similar complaint when speaking to CBC. "I'm a little shocked that I sold out so fast, and also very upset that I don't have product for everybody," Clarke said. "I'm letting down a lot of people here and I was assured that if I paid for the cannabis I would receive it." He confesses that his company started the day with less than a full supply.
The Montreal Gazettereports that more than 12,500 transactions were made in store, and another 30,000 had been made online in Quebec on Wednesday, per the the Société québécoise du cannabis, or SQDC. Their findings suggest that there will be "serious supply challenges over the short term for its outlets." Until these stores receive the necessary data to determine how to address these shortages, this will be the new norm for Canadians looking for weed. Hopefully for their sake, this problem is taken care of as soon as possible.
