Legal dispensaries that opened in Ontario on April 1st

When cannabis became legal in Canada for recreational use on October 17, 2018, there were a lot of marijuana and hemp-based products that were excluded from legislation which only mentioned vague guidelines that the provinces had to abide by to provide access to residents. In the end, each region was granted the power to decide for themselves how to govern, license, and roll out cannabis dispensaries. Most opted for stores that were regulated by the same commissions that already oversaw alcohol sales and consumption. Others allowed private investors and franchises to set up shop, but Ontario was the only province to entirely prohibit legal marijuana dispensaries from opening in time for legalization day. Residents of the area were still granted access to legal cannabis products on October 17, but only through one government-run website called OCS (Ontario Cannabis Store).

Those who live in the region were forced to wait until April 1st of 2019 to access their first legal marijuana storefronts in person, but many still sit awaiting the opportunity. If you aren’t from the area than you are probably wondering why so little access in a fresh new legal market could be possible. Unfortunately, the lottery system that was eventually implemented was thrown together quickly and gave no preference to anyone who was certified or experienced in running a business. This resulted in the majority of the 25 lottery winners not being open in time for the April 1st deadline set out by the government as a term of entering the draw. Here we will show you exactly how many legal marijuana dispensaries were open, and how soon we should be expecting to see the remaining locations to be ready for customers.

Legal marijuana dispensaries open on April 1st

Kingston- 2 locations including:

• Brock Street Cannabis located at 75 Brock Street
• Spiritleaf located at 72 Princess Street Unit #101

Ottawa- 3 locations including:

• Superette located at 1306 Wellington Street West Unit #100
• Hobo Recreational Cannabis Store located at 391 Bank Street
• Fire & Flower Cannabis Co. located at 129 York Street

London- 1 location

• Central Cannabis located at 666 Wonderland Road North Unit #6B

St. Catherines- 1 location

• The Niagara Herbalist located at 33 Lakeshore Road Unit #15

Toronto- 1 location

• The Hunny Pot Cannabis Co. located at 202 Queen Street West

Brampton- 1 location

• Ganjika House located at 186 Main Street South Unit #190

Burlington- 1 location

• Relm Cannabis Co. located at 4031 Fairview Street Unit #103

Legal marijuana dispensaries that will be open by April 30, 2019

Hamilton- 2 locations

• Hello Cannabis Store will be located at 57 Cootes Drive
• Canna Cabana Hamilton will be located at 1317 Barton Street East

Sudbury- 2 locations

• Canna Cabana will be located at 2019 Long Lake Road Unit# B
• Highlife will be located at 1299 Marcus Drive

London- 2 locations

• J. London will be located at 691 Richmond Street Unit #5
• Tweed will be located at 1025 Wellington Road Unit #A-2

Toronto- 2 locations

• Nova Cannabis will be located at 499 Queen Street West
• Ameri will be located at 20 Cumberland Street

Niagara Falls- 1 location

• Choom Cannabis will be located at 7555 Montrose Road Unit #E3

Oshawa- 1 location

• Fabulous Leaf will be located at 575 Laval Drive Unit #400

Ajax- 1 location

• Smok will be located at 20 Kingston Road West