The Ontario government’s decision to remove cannabis retail from the essential businesses list has left the Ontario Cannabis Store (OCS) as the only option for weed lovers. As it stands, cannabis retail will remain off the list for the next two weeks — no word on whether or not that period might be extended — and OCS.ca will continue as an essential business.

With no brick-and-mortar stores open for business, cannabis consumers will only be able to get delivery via Canada Post, which will be no charge but require the customer to show proof of identity when picking up at the post office, and Domain Express three-day delivery, which is also no charge and comes directly to one’s door in select areas, notes an OCS blog post from Sunday.

The hours of service for the direct-to-door services, which is only available for certain areas in the Greater Toronto Area, Hamilton, Waterloo Region and Guelph, will be 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sorry, no service will be available to P.O. boxes. “When submitting your order, please enter a mobile phone number (no landlines, please). We will text you order updates,” the blog post states.

“We are waiving shipping charges during the pandemic to make this service as accessible as possible,” according to the OCS. “Supply levels are not currently affected by the response to COVID-19,” the Crown corporation adds.

“It is a shame that the Ford government has moved to shut down cannabis retailers in the province. This move does nothing but embolden the black market, who will obviously continue to meet consumer demand,” David Clement, Toronto-based North American affairs manager for the Consumer Choice Center, says in a statement. “If retailers aren’t allowed to remain open, the Ford government should allow for retailers to offer delivery to consumers, something that is currently prohibited,” Clement says.

The OCS reports it is seeing higher-than-normal volume of orders, little wonder given the run on cannabis retail before the 11:59 p.m., Apr. 4 deadline, and reminiscent of the sales spike witnessed before cannabis retail was deemed an essential service in the province.

FILE: People stand in freshly painted circles, six-feet-apart, as they wait in a two-hour line to buy marijuana products from Good Chemistry on Mar. 23, 2020 in Denver, Colo. / Photo: Michael Ciaglo/Getty Images / Photo: Michael Ciaglo/Getty Images

In Ottawa, for example, CTV News reported the line-up of shoppers at Stash & Co. Recreational Cannabis was a half-block long, while people had to wait for their turns to get into Fire & Flower Cannabis. And in Barrie, hundreds of people are said to have visited the One Plant cannabis shop, which opened its doors just a few months ago and had to close for about a week in March after it was reported an employee came into contact with someone suspected of contracting the coronavirus, notes Orillia Matters.

In response to the hike in orders, OCS notes it has added extra shifts to ensure timely fulfillment while also adhering to COVID-19 best practices. “We appreciate your patience and understanding and promise to get your order to you as rapidly as possible.”