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Will legal pot kill black market? CANADIAN PRESS
From texting a local dealer to dropping into a neighbourhood dispensary or ordering online, Canada’s black market for recreational marijuana has seen significant changes in recent years. It will see more as the country hurtles toward a new world of legalization this summer. What does seem clear, however, is that the illegal market is unlikely to disappear in a puff of smoke come legalization day, which is set for July 1. “There’s a huge, complex system out there operating in the world that has been delivering excellent product to people at reasonable prices for 40 years now,” said Donald MacPherson, executive director of the Canadian Drug Policy Coalition, an organization based out of Simon Fraser University that advocates for evidencebased policy-making and harm-reduction strategies. “It’s really the degree to which the regulated system can, over a period of years, encroach on as much of that pre-existing market as possible — that is the key question.” Talking to users quickly reveals three major strands that make up the current system, start-
ing with the traditional approach: knowing a guy who knows a guy who gets you your pot. It’s familiar, it’s trusted, it feels safe. More recently, streetlevel dispensaries have offered a somewhat normal retail store-front experience, though some offer only delivery. Perhaps the biggest change has been in what appears to be a very Canadian phenomenon: the burst of website-based mail-order marijuana suppliers, or MOMs as they are known. A plethora of websites now feature different cannabis products along with prices and, in some cases, testimonials, contests, specials, and freebies. Most ask for proof of age in the form of an uploaded ID document — 18 or 19 is generally minimum — and payment takes place via Interac. The vacuumpacked product is shipped to the buyer via Canada Post or courier. Francois, 34, an IT professional in Quebec City, said he now buys exclusively online. “The convenience factor is what brought me there,” said Francois, who, like other users interviewed for this article, only wants his first name used.
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“It’s delivered to your doorstep. It’s super easy, it’s super discreet.” Marie-Helene, 26, a journalist in Montreal who smokes recreationally most evenings and weekends, said she doesn’t expect much will change for her postlegalization. She plans to stick with buying from a guy she knows who sells medical-grade weed. She trusts him and she enjoys the personal touch — he knows what strains she likes — and what she calls their “professionalbusiness relationship.” “It probably sounds silly, [but] it’s the same thing as people who enjoy buying stuff in stores — because it’s customer experience.” Robert, 55, an IT professional based in St.
Catharines, Ont., a recreational user for decades, said he now has a medical prescription and can avoid a black market he believes was tied to organized crime. The illegal market is doomed over time, he said, because every gram sold legally is a gram the black market won’t need to grow. “Most of my friends can’t wait to purchase legally and are quite jealous that I am currently able to do that,” Robert said. “Friends who have more libertarian leanings swear they will never buy from the Ontario government, [but] bet that changes. “People are lazy and follow the path of least resistance, so if they can buy a couple grams in the same shopping plaza that
they are grocery shopping, they are going to do that.” Statistics Canada data indicate about 12 per cent of Canadians ages 15 and older — or 3.6 million of us — reported in 2015 having used cannabis in the previous year, with 840,000 saying they used it most every day. Robert, however, said he thinks governments have hugely underestimated the prevalence of use and the Ontario government’s plan, for example, to start out with 40 retail outlets is laughable. “People don’t honestly answer surveys about sex and drugs, so nobody really understands how big the market will be,” Robert said. “I predict massive lines for legal weed next year.”
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