Dear Herb: Can I order legal weed from another province?

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 14/11/2018 (2878 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Dear Herb: Can I order legal cannabis online from outside my home province? — Discerning Shopper

Dear Discerning Shopper: I’m glad we’re revisiting this question now that cannabis is legal. (I explored this topic back in February of this year, but that was well before legalization.)

The short answer is no: at this point, you definitely can’t order legal, non-medical cannabis directly from another province or territory’s online cannabis stores.

That’s because the regulation of non-medical cannabis sales falls to provincial and territorial governments, not the federal government. Each provincial and territorial government has its own laws that authorize cannabis retailers to sell to consumers within that legal jurisdiction, but not to consumers anywhere else.

Just to make sure, I surveyed each province and territory’s online cannabis sales websites to see if they ship out of province. Not a single one does.

Here’s what I found, in alphabetical order: 

The government of Alberta is responsible for online cannabis sales in that province via AlbertaCannabis.org. The FAQ says, “We ship all over Alberta. Sorry, Saskatchewan — you’re out of luck.” (Sick burn!)

British Columbia’s government is also keeping online sales to itself. “Products can only be shipped to an address within British Columbia,” says the BC Cannabis Stores FAQ.

Each of Manitoba’s private sector cannabis retailers operates its own online store. If you try to order to a shipping address outside of Manitoba, you’ll get a message such as, “Cannabis products cannot be shipped outside of Manitoba.”

New Brunswick’s Cannabis NB store says: “By law, Cannabis NB is only permitted to sell cannabis and accessories within the province of New Brunswick.”

Newfoundland and Labrador’s  Cannabis NL FAQ says that neither licensed private cannabis retailers nor the government owned Cannabis NL website can ship online orders out of province.

In the Northwest Territories, the Northwest Territories Liquor and Cannabis Commission’s website says orders can only be shipped to addresses in the Northwest Territories.

In Nova Scotia, the Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation is the only retailer of legal cannabis. An FAQ at NSLC’s online cannabis store says, “By law, the NSLC is only permitted to sell cannabis products and cannabis accessories within the province of Nova Scotia.” In order to even access that website, Nova Scotians have to go to an NSLC store, show valid government identification to an employee, and receive a card with a special access code.

Nunavut has contracted out legal cannabis sales to Canopy Growth Corporation’s Tweed subsidiary. If you’re ordering from Nunavut, the Tweed online store will only allow you to input a Nunavut shipping address.

Ontario’s government-operated Ontario Cannabis Store says its products can only be delivered to addresses within that province.

On Prince Edward Island, the PEI Cannabis website says “Cannabis orders can be delivered to any legal address on PEI.”

Quebec’s Société québécoise du cannabis website makes it clear that the SQDC.ca delivery service is available for Quebec addresses only.

Saskatchewan’s cannabis regulator says private retailers may only sell online to Saskatchewan customers.

In the Yukon territory, the Cannabis Yukon website also says, “We can only ship to a Yukon address.” 

Got a question about cannabis? Herb answers your questions about legal consumption and growing, the law, etiquette — you name it, he’ll look into it.

First, please check this list of questions already answered by Herb. Then, email dearherb@theleafnews.com, or to submit anonymously, fill out the form below. Please include an email address if you’d like to be notified when Herb answers your question:  

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