Article: Allowing Cannabis Delivery in Canada Post-Pandemic Will Help Combat Illegal Trade

One of the biggest criticisms of Canadian Cannabis legalization is that its complicated rules and limited retail options cannot compete with the black market. What would help? Allowing Cannabis deliveries to retailers to continue after the pandemic.

It would also greatly improve the monopolized delivery system that existed before Covid-19 loosened some distribution regulations. For example, before the pandemic, the Ontario Cannabis Store (OCS) was unable to offer same-day delivery via Canada Post. When OCS attempted to offer same-day delivery by hiring a third-party service, the provincial online retailer could only offer it to select areas and soon discontinued the option due to high demand.

The temporary measure allowing curbside pickup and home delivery by retailers is not perfect and like any government policy, the devil is in the details.

On one hand, there is a requirement that the delivery person must be an employee of the retailer. This is an unnecessary restriction that significantly limits expansion. Retailers are not equipped with the capital or knowledge to operate a fleet of vehicles. This becomes apparent when demand increases. They should be able to contract this service like any other company.

Secondly, the Ford government should allow third-party services to be used by licensed retailers without the need for a license for that function. All Ontario needs to do is follow Manitoba's example, which allows this. Making this change will benefit consumers by allowing technology service companies to enter the market, giving legal retailers an edge over the illegal market.

Eliminating the need for employees and allowing unlicensed technology companies to serve stores expands the options retailers have to get products to customers. They could completely outsource their delivery through third parties with a marijuana delivery license or work with other delivery apps, like restaurants.

The province may require unlicensed drivers to have their CannSell certificate, which is similar to Smart Serve for alcohol. CannSell costs $64.99 and would provide drivers with the necessary knowledge to detect impairments and protect access to minors.

For implementation, the province could legalize this type of delivery tomorrow and give drivers a 30-day grace period to complete CannSell. When the province announced that restaurants could deliver alcohol with food orders, they did just that, giving food delivery drivers a month to obtain the Smart Serve Certificate.

Making Cannabis delivery permanent rather than temporary would be a significant step forward for the legal market in Ontario. This would benefit retailers significantly. More importantly, it would benefit consumers by expanding and enhancing their options.

David Clement is the North American Affairs Manager at the Consumer Choice Center.

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