Cannabis customers pour in, even as SQDC struggles with supply

Almost a week after recreational cannabis became legal in Canada, people continue to line up outside the Société québécoise du cannabis store on Ste-Catherine St. W., even as cannabis supplies dwindle.

At one point on Tuesday afternoon, store employees were outside telling people in line that they had run out of everything except 15 gram containers of cannabis — a large quantity that sells for more than $100 a package — and recommending that customers visit one of the SQDC’s other two Montreal locations for more selection.

Mathieu Gaudreault, a spokesperson for the SQDC, acknowledged the store was having issues with the supply of certain products and formats, and that it didn’t have the full selection the retailer intends to offer.

“However, there is still product left, the store won’t be closing,” he said.

The Ste-Catherine St. location is scheduled to get some new stock Wednesday, Gaudreault said. “For customers who want more choice of products, we invite them to come back tomorrow.”

The Ste-Catherine location has faced heavy demand, he said, but the SQDC has had trouble maintaining supplies of such products as oils, gel caps and small containers of dried cannabis. Many of those products remain sold out online as well as in stores.

It’s not just Quebec, he said, every province is in a similar situation.

“Everyone is trying to manage these types of supply challenges,” Gaudreault said.

The SQDC will be working with suppliers to get more products on store shelves, Gaudreault said.

SQDC stores aren’t supplied from a central warehouse, instead cannabis producers deliver products directly to retail locations, he said.

“We’re a little at the mercy of the availably of products,” Gaudreault said.

The Ontario Cannabis Store, the only legal retailer in that province, has also suffered from supply issues. When the online-only retailers website launched last week, it had more than 70 kinds of cannabis for sale.

By Tuesday, the website was down to 43 and many of those varieties were not available in some quantities.

The B.C. government’s online store was also sold out of some varieties and was sold out of products like gel caps.

While the SQDC plans to open more outlets in Montreal and other parts of the province, Gaudreault said he didn’t yet have the time frame for when the next wave of stores will open.