The Canadian Government brought into law the Cannabis Act in 2018 in October, which legalized the use of cannabis in the country. However, this legalization was accompanied by very stringent rules to ensure that the recreational use of the drug does not shoot up. Hardly a month after the legalization of cannabis, there were reports of shortages of the medicine from various provinces across the country. Licensed distributors were unable to deliver the required volumes; some retailers closed shops while others opened on some days of the week. This shortage caused a lot of speculation as regards to the causes of the deficiency. However, most people reported that it was due to the strict rules as related to the production, packaging, and retailing of the product.
The shortages could be attributed to the following:
Licensing of growers, distributors, and sellers of cannabis. Many dealers and analysts state that the requirements to be authorized are too strict; therefore, only a few players can get into the market. There were also complaints that the licensing process took too long, which impaired people who would be in the business.
High demand for cannabis. After the legalization of the drug, it is only logical that Canadians would flock to buy it, whether for recreational or medicinal purposes. With slightly over one hundred licensed producers of cannabis at the time for a whole country, the supply would not meet the demand this creating a shortage.
Relatively new market. Since the cannabis market is still entirely new, there are no market statistics to predict the products that would be most demanded by consumers and at what quantity. The industry is still at its teething phase. Therefore, it will be a process of learning as the business progresses and by collecting a lot of feedback from the market.
Unforeseen low supply of the product. The focus was so much on demand for the product that no one thought that there would be a small supply of the product to meet the anticipated demand. This is because suppliers have failed to meet the volume they committed to supply by more than fifty percent.
Increasing demand for different cannabis products. The lunch of the cannabis industry in Canada was met by a very high demand for the drug. People are now looking forward to the edibles and topicals (cannabis-infused oils or skin products), which is only leading to an increased demand for cannabis products. Hence the suppliers are unable to meet the market since it is ever-growing. This is a problem that is affecting those looking to buy weed online from West Coast Botanics.
This shortage of cannabis will continue since the cannabis industry in Canada is in its early stages and will only be reduced through more production of cannabis and an improved licensing system.