Pubdate: Wed, 25 Oct 2017
Source: Toronto Star (CN ON)
Copyright: 2017 The Toronto Star
Contact:  http://www.thestar.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/456
Author: Julien Gignac
Page: GTA1

WEED ENTREPRENEURS TARGET AT-HOME DELIVERY MARKET

With the legalization of pot scheduled for next year, a cannabis
delivery company is advertising its services by distributing hot pink
flyers to city mailboxes amid complaints questioning its methods.

Riverdale resident Pauline Stanley received an advertisement late last
week from Weedora, offering seven free grams of marijuana with the
purchase of one ounce of a "high end" strain. Interested parties would
reach out via text message for service.

Stanley, a mother of two children, aged 9 and 14, reached out to the
company under an alias to gather more information. She said prices for
an ounce - with names such as "Chemo Kush," or "UK Cheese 2.0" - are
$150 to $250.

Stanley said there's a school down the street from her home, adding
she's frustrated that a technically illegal recreational drug market
can operate unchecked and indiscriminately appeal to youth.

"My door is not a nightclub," she said. "There are all kinds of
school-age kids in the neighbourhood, so how many of these (flyers)
were nabbed by teenagers? It's pretty inviting.

"When I got it, I thought this must be illegal and intrusive," Stanley
said.

Stanley said the advertisement isn't for medical purposes. The
company's website doesn't specify. It does state that buyers must be
19 or older to order. "It is our mission to give cannabis lovers the
best strains grown by local farmers for the most affordable prices,
delivered right to your door in the GTA," reads the company's mission
statement.

The federal government is planning to follow through with plans to
legalize recreational pot on July 1, 2018. Ontario has signalled that
cannabis will be sold from LCBO outlets or through a
government-operated server.

Mark Pugash, director of communications at the Toronto Police Service,
said the issue is on the force's radar, but declined to comment.

A request by the Star for an interview with the unnamed owner of
Weedora was declined.

Councillor Paula Fletcher (Ward 30, Toronto-Danforth) said Stanley's
concerns are warranted, adding that the crackdown of dispensaries in
Toronto has forced the marijuana market to shift its strategy and
continue working in a protracted grey zone.

"It is technically advertising an illegal product for somebody to
bring it to your house," she said. "The marijuana industry is a very
smart, savvy, large industry that will find other ways to distribute
until the regulation comes into play."

Fletcher said her ward has seen dispensaries pop up; they were
tolerated for a spell and then shut down. "It's the wild, wild West,"
she said. "I believe there must be regulation. This grey area is
unfair to everybody, at this point. I think the police need to act a
little more swiftly."
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MAP posted-by: Matt