Dispensaries around the country were forced to close their doors early after running out of product on the first day of legal cannabis sales. “One store owner, who the gods must be laughing at, said out of all goddamn times they somehow ran out of weed at 4:20.” See Vice for a recap of the sad story of folks who waited in line only to find the shelves already empty.
Although, apparently there are still plenty of black-market weed dealers who aren’t afraid of the law, even though penalties are expected to be harsher under the new cannabis laws.
That being said, the Toronto Police Department rolled out their own campaign in which they asked Canadians to stop narcing on each other every time they smell weed. The police campaign included photos for people thinking of calling 911 for non-emergencies: “Asking for directions because you’re lost is not a 911 call,” reads one. “Reporting an adult smoking a joint isn’t either.”
That was Toronto, however, in other parts of the county police officers seemed eager to enforce the new cannabis restrictions to the letter of the law. Despite the dreaded cannabis shortages at licensed dispensaries, cops still raided unlicensed weed shops across the country. And CTV News reported that the Winnipeg police issued their first pot ticket only one hour after legalization kicked in. The ticket was for consuming cannabis while in a car.
Then there is the planned postal workers strike. The day before legalization, the Canada postal workers union announced a strike planned to start on Monday. This is going to be a major problem in Ontario, Canada’s most populous province, because the only means of buying legal cannabis is through the online Ontario Cannabis Store, says Global News.
But the Ontario government announced it has a back-up plan “to ensure the delivery of recreational cannabis in case of a Canada Post strike next week, but it isn’t saying what that arrangement is.”
And last, but not least: On legalization day, an enterprising 9-year-old Canadian girl sold every box of her Girl Guide cookies in less than 45 minutes to customers lining up outside a pot shop in Edmonton, according to Global News.
The girl’s father told the CBC that she sold a box of cookies every minute-and-a-half, quickly turning all 30 boxes into $120 for the Girl Guides, part of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts.
Yep, legalization in Canada seems to be off to a great start.
