Concerns raised about wild west of the online edible marijuana market

By Adrian Ghobrial

There was a time recently in Toronto when you didn’t need a WeedMap and you could find a dispensary on practically any corner across the city. Now that most have been shut down by either police or have closed down voluntarily, much of the edible cannabis game has moved online, which puts it a click of a button away, no matter how old you are.

They’re pitched as sweets and look just like the ones children run to find at the convenience store. For the more refined pallet there’s also gourmet dishes from Butter Chicken to soups, pizza and beyond. Each one is infused with THC and still illegal.

“You can get brownies, you can get cake. Really any candy you can think of can be infused with THC,” said a man we’re calling Mr. Smith, who makes illegal, edible cannabis products. He spoke to CityNews on the condition we conceal his identity. With his help, we discovered just how easy it is to purchase edible cannabis online for almost anyone of any age.

“At one point a box opened up it asked me if I was 18, I just had to click yes and I was good to go,” Mr Smith said.

Mr. Smith does not sell his edible products online – yet. He claims to only sell to people well over 19 years of age and says he got into the edible game in part after seeing how simple it was to order online.

“The website that I was using, they were doing about 1,000 orders a week and the minimum order was $100,” he explained. “I would say 25 per cent of my orders were confiscated by the RCMP.”

While the federal government is set to legalize marijuana in just under two months, edibles won’t be permitted in the eyes of the law until 2019 at the earliest. CityNews reached out to MP Bill Blair, the man overseeing the plan for the legalization of cannabis in Canada, about this online free-for-all but we have yet to receive a response.

In a written statement, Canada Post spokesperson Darcia Kmet told CityNews, “Marijuana that falls outside Health Canada regulations is a prohibited substance and not permitted in the mail. When detected, the item is intercepted and turned over to the appropriate law enforcement agency for further investigation in accordance with Canada Post regulations.”

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