Pot roadblocks fuel ‘unauthorized’ sales

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Canada is “legalizing marijuana to take the profits out of the hands of criminals.” What we are seeing is the opposite effect. Governments have created a high level of bureaucracy, restrictions and requirements, making it an unruly process to obtain a licence.

There are inadequate licensed vendors for the public to purchase the newly legalized pot. Only two stores in Calgary were open for Trudeau’s grand legalization day, while 116 of 293 applications were refused, and eight to nine may open “soon.” All of Alberta has only 17 licensed vendors, while British Columbia has two.

Online facilities crashed following the Oct. 17 stroke of midnight, and were soon reporting “out of stock” on most products. Canadians can now possess marijuana without fear of prosecution, yet there are limited legal means to obtain it. Add to this the significantly higher prices at legalized vendors, and we have the perfect storm to line the pockets of unauthorized distributors. I hope Justin enjoys the votes he hopes to gain by his marijuana legalization crusade, especially the ones from the smiling “unauthorized distributors.”

Bryan Hnatiuk, Calgary