'This weed is so much better': Cannabis legalization in B.C. at one year

Thursday marks a year since non-medicinal cannabis was legalized nationwide on Oct. 17, 2018
Vancouver Sun (Canada)
Wednesday, October 16, 2019

canada cannabis ottawaMike Babins and Maria Petrucci cleared grey-market cannabis from the shelves of their dispensary last year on the eve of federal legalization, uncertain what the new market would bring. A year later, sales of recreational pot have been brisk and longtime customers have remained loyal following the Evergreen Cannabis Store’s months-long transition from a “grey market” municipal licence to a provincial licence under the new system. “I’m so happy to see how many of those people come back and say, ‘Wow, this weed is so much better.’” Black-market cannabis still accounts for about two-thirds of the cannabis bought in Canada, so B.C.’s 85 licensed private retailers and seven government stores may be competing more with illicit operators than with each other.