The 2020 pandemic was a blessing in disguise for cannabis fans in Whitby because it gave them full access to weed delivery services. Before COVID-19, the Ontario Cannabis Store (OCS) was the only legal online retailer of recreational cannabis in Whitby.
Therefore, it was the province’s exclusive licensed weed delivery service, yet it only implemented same-day delivery in late 2019.
Cannabis enthusiasts living in towns like Whitby, which opted out of hosting cannabis stores, found accessing weed in the legal market inconvenient. However, private weed delivery services currently serve Whitby. Here’s why weed delivery services now work in Whitby:
1. To Fight the Illicit Cannabis Market
Ontario’s cannabis industry was gradually gaining ground against the illicit weed industry in the province before the pandemic. The province’s legal cannabis industry market share grew from 20% when recreational cannabis became legal in 2018 to 40% in 2020. However, COVID-19 almost reversed the progress made by Ontario’s cannabis industry, in the following ways.
First, Ontario’s provincial government scrapped the cannabis industry from the list of essential businesses. Following this development, licensed cannabis dispensaries in Ontario temporarily shut their doors.
The dispensaries were unable to serve walk-in customers or to offer click-and-collect services during the shutdown. Therefore, illicit weed dealers jumped on the opportunity to supply illegal weed to Whitby’s ready weed market.
Note that protecting public health and regulating recreational marijuana’s quality were among the reasons why recreational marijuana use became legal. Therefore, provincial and municipal governments would be endangering public life by allowing inferior-quality weed into the public domain. Consequently, Ontario’s government allowed licensed cannabis dispensaries to deliver weed to Whitby and other municipalities in Ontario.
2. To Support Whitby’s Residents During COVID-19 Crisis
The uncertainty caused by the 2020 Pandemic raised stress and anxiety levels among Whitby’s residents tremendously. For instance, people lost their sources of income, became isolated, and became depressed, among other adverse incidents.
Many Canadians use cannabis products to manage their stress levels; one clinical study shows CBD, an active compound in cannabis, can help reduce anxious behaviors. Additionally, another study also showed that anxiety increases sensitivity to pain among people with chronic health conditions. Therefore, Whitby residents needed cannabis products to manage their stress levels and prevent their health from deteriorating.
Given the social distancing requirement to manage the pandemic, store visits to buy marijuana were impractical. Therefore, municipal governments in Ontario supported the provincial governments’ decree to allow cannabis dispensaries to provide cannabis delivery services.
3. It was A Practical Alternative to In-store Pickup
In-store pick-ups meant cannabis customers make an order and pay for it remotely, then come to collect it afterward. Although in-store pick-ups were gaining popularity before the pandemic, they became impractical later.
In-store pick-ups meant people would congregate at cannabis dispensaries, and store employees could not help it if multiple customers showed up simultaneously. Therefore, cannabis delivery was more practical as it limited customer’s movement and kept them safe from COVID-19 transmission.
4. To Give the Cannabis Industry a Lifeline
The cannabis industry in Canada is barely three years old, yet it created a job boom that gave employment opportunities to thousands. The number of Canadians employed directly in the cannabis industry quadrupled between 2018 and 2019. Although Whitby opted out of hosting cannabis dispensaries, its residents benefited from indirect employment in the marijuana industry. Hence, closing cannabis dispensaries would jeopardize the jobs of hundreds of Whitby citizens.
Consequently, legal cannabis industries got the go-ahead to start offering weed delivery services all over Ontario, including Whitby, to preserve jobs. The move also allowed the cannabis industry to tap into markets like Whitby that were inaccessible before.
5. Economic Growth
The cannabis industry is a significant revenue source for Ontario and its municipalities. For example, between 2019 and 2020, the Ontario Cannabis Store raked in $19 million in revenue from the sale of cannabis products. Moreover, Ontario’s provincial government awarded $1.16 million to the town of Whitby as part of its provincial COVID-19 relief funding.
Besides the relief funding, Ontario’s provincial government also funds other projects in Whitby. Therefore, loss of income for Ontario would mean a loss for Whitby too.
Many other Ontario-based industries were experiencing tremendous losses resulting from COVID-19 lockdowns and travel bans. As a result, to preserve its revenue stream, Ontario’s provincial government allowed weed licensed dispensaries to offer delivery services.
6. To Meet Rising Customer Demand
The demand for cannabis grew exponentially during the pandemic because Canadians increased their weed intake. They needed weed to adjust and cope with stressful situations and to boost productivity and creativity while working from home.
Online cannabis sales in the Ontario Cannabis store jumped to 600%, with up to 5000 orders coming in daily. Unfortunately, the OCS could not single-handedly meet those orders on time, yet private dispensaries could not help shoulder the responsibility.
The OCS had to partner with private weed delivery services in Ontario to help fulfill customer orders. Moreover, the delivery services created easy access to cannabis towns like Whitby without Physical cannabis shops.
Conclusion
Weed delivery services are mutually beneficial to Whitby’s municipal council and the town’s residents, especially during this pandemic. Hence, try using weed delivery services in Whitby and have premium-quality weed delivered to your doorstep.