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Black markets and grey markets pervade daily life in nearly every way. The idea of below board brands, or fakes markets are certainly nothing new. What do they mean to the newly legal cannabis market? And what are the problems that have been popping up as cannabis becomes the new darling of legally sold goods?

In the lead up to the legalisation of recreational cannabis in Canada and the ongoing legalisation in some US states, opposing parties continued to warn of the resulting increase in road traffic accidents. However, following legalisation, a number of studies have aimed to assess whether this is actually the case.

A 45-year-old Canadian man got busted at the border last week hauling millions of dollars worth of marijuana.

A highly regarded British think-tank focused on reforming drug laws thinks Canada’s legalisation and regulation of cannabis has gone well.

Transform Drug Policy Foundation has been monitoring Canadian reform efforts for some time, and advised the Canadian Government and some provinces on how to develop regulations prior to legalisation. Its positive views of Canada’s initiatives is a significant contribution in assessing our journey away from criminalisation of simple possession and use of recreational drugs.

There have been a number of efforts at assessing our first year of legalisation and beyond. Not all of them have been as positive as Transform’s evaluations.

On April 7, 2020, the Ontario government made an emergency order under the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act to support the cannabis retail sector through the COVID-19 pandemic, temporarily allowing authorized cannabis retail stores to offer delivery and curbside pick-up.

Before the pandemic began, the Ontario government held consultations on whether to allow cannabis lounges, cafes and "special occasional permits" for pot — which would allow for sales at places like festivals.

Premier Doug Ford's government has stated its ultimate goal for cannabis is an open market, but at this point it continues to control all legal sales through the Ontario Cannabis Store, which has reported an uptick in online purchases during the pandemic. 

B.C. has has a difficult road to getting cannabis users interested in purchasing from legal retailers over their neighbourhood dealer, but a recent poll suggests that the province may finally be winning the battle over bud.

A Research Co. poll released earlier this month found that 51 per cent of B.C. respondents who have consumed cannabis in the past six months have bought all of their products from licensed retailers. That’s an 18-point increase from a similar survey conducted in October 2019.

About 20 per cent of the 800 respondents surveyed said that “most” or “some” of their cannabis was obtained at a licensed retailer, while 16 per cent admitted to purchasing only through illegal dealers or unlicensed retailers.

It was already an assumption that Canada was going to have a booming, country-wide cannabis market through their legal industry, but now the numbers prove that that assumption is a reality. Retail sales reached $185.9 million Canadian dollars this past May, according to Statistics Canada.