​Canadian Marijuana Stores Face Shortage Supply After Legalisation

After becoming the first industrialised nation to legalise marijuana, Canadian stores are apparently already running low on stock.

According to the Daily Mail, Canadians seeking out legal recreational marijuana on Thursday not only had to contend with long lines, but also supply shortages in the wake of the historic change.

One man called Alexandre was apparently turned away from a store when it closed at 9pm, having been waiting in line for a painful seven hours.

"It was hell, it was cold," Alexandre said. "But we had fun anyway, talking with people in the crowd and sharing joints."

Supply shortages were also reported in the provinces of Newfoundland and Saskatchewan, and also in the Arctic territory of Nunavut.

PA

Alexandre clearly wasn't too put off, as he was back early on Thursday morning to try again.

"Yesterday was the day that everyone was waiting for but I think that little by little the queue will decrease," he said.

Meanwhile, 41-year-old Genevieve Despres had slightly better luck, having managed to make it inside the store - describing the atmosphere in the queue as 'super friendly'. She told AFP: "We sang, we laughed, we made friends."

She added: "'I do not usually smoke but since it was a historic day for Canada I thought I'd try."

Genevieve had bought weed with a low level of THC, the psychoactive agent in cannabis, referring to it as 'the bomb' before returning with friends on Thursday to buy more.

The Cannabis Act came into effect on 17 October. However, due to the sheer size of the country, the landmark moment had to sweep the country in waves, as each time zone struck midnight.

Newfoundland, being the furthest province to the east, was the first to make the sale, with a festival atmosphere taking over the city by midnight as people lit up joints in the street.

As hundreds formed queues around the block, 46-year-old Ian Power was first in line at a store in the city of St. John's. He purchased a gram, but said he would not actually be smoking the weed.

According to CNBC, he said: "Prohibition has ended right now. We just made history.

"I can't believe we did it. All the years of activism paid off. Cannabis is legal in Canada and everyone should come to Canada and enjoy our cannabis.

"I am going to frame it and hang it on my wall. I'm not even going to smoke it. I'm just going to save it forever."

Topics: World News, News, Canada

Jess Hardiman

Jess is a journalist at LADbible who graduated from Manchester University with a degree in Film Studies, English Language and Linguistics - indecisiveness at its finest, right there. She also works for FOODbible and its sister page Seitanists, which are both a safe haven for her to channel a love for homemade pasta, fennel and everything else in between. You can contact Jess at [email protected].

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