As of 9 a.m. on January 16, Cannabis 2.0 products will be available for purchase through the Ontario Cannabis Store (OCS) for the first time. 

More than 50 products will be introduced, including edibles and vapes, but topicals, most drinks and extracts are still to come. Accessories like batteries and storage containers will also be available.

The new wave of products were legalized on October 17, 2019, but are just beginning to hit the shelves as licensed producers await product approval from Health Canada. 

The site will be offline from midnight until the morning of Jan. 16 as the site is updated and upgraded, said Daffyd Roderick, director of communications for the OCS.

“The updated site will offer improved search capabilities, respond to customer feedback on product descriptions and provide an enhanced customer experience as well as adding new product categories,” he said.

The long-awaited products are likely to draw a rush of customers, but Roderick said the OCS is not anticipating any of the delivery delays that plagued customers when the site launched in 2017. 

“Today, we hit our one- to three-day delivery window 99 per cent of the time,” he said. “We don’t see any dip in this standard. The challenge will be the quantity of products available from the licensed producers.”

Some customers have expressed concerns that the new products could be prone to damage during shipping, resulting in issues like leaky vape cartridges. If any products arrive defective, Roderick said the OCS will work with the licensed producers “to investigate and offer a full refund if necessary.”

Additional products will continue to be added to the OCS inventory in the coming weeks and months ahead.

“Licensed producers are ramping up their manufacturing capabilities and we expect a continuous stream of new products,” Roderick said.