Uber Eats now delivers weed in Toronto

Consumers in Toronto can order cannabis through grocery delivery platform Uber Eats through a partnership with local dispensaries and online marijuana resource Leafly, which launched Monday.

“We’re working with industry leaders like Leafly to help retailers provide safe and convenient options for people in Toronto to buy legal cannabis for home delivery, which will help fight the illicit market and disrupt the community.” Reduce driving,” Lola Kassim, general manager of Uber Eats Canada, said in a statement from the two companies on Sunday. “In recent years we have invested heavily in our delivery business and the selection has expanded enormously. Uber Eats has quickly evolved into a versatile platform that can be used by various businesses, large and small.”

Under the new program, Toronto residents 19 and older can use the Uber Eats app to order cannabis from one of three licensed retailers: Hidden Leaf Cannabis, Minerva Cannabis and Shivaa’s Rose. Orders are then filled by the companies and delivered by pharmacy employees certified by CannSell, a training and certification program required by the province of Ontario.

The partnership between Uber Technologies and Leafly aims in part to help address competition in Canada’s illicit cannabis market, which persists despite the legalization of cannabis in the country in 2018. The new cannabis home delivery program will also improve access for consumers and patients while keeping the city’s roadways safer.

“First and foremost, we see this as a crucial contribution to preventing disabled driving and secondly, this is just another initiative that can help fight the illicit cannabis market, which today still accounts for more than 40% of cannabis sales constitutes in Ontario. ‘ Kassim told CBC Toronto. “So we’re offering an option that goes beyond the store, that goes beyond pickup, and it’s also an option for consumers on a platform like Uber Eats that many Torontonians already know, love and are built on, know.” You, trust and security.”

Data from the Ontario Cannabis Store, the province’s only wholesaler of legal recreational marijuana, shows that nearly 57% of cannabis purchased between the beginning of the year and the end of March was purchased through the regulated supply chain. The number is based on information provided to Statistics Canada by consumers, a fact that can affect accuracy as many are reluctant to admit cannabis use to government agencies.

Home delivery launched during the pandemic

Home delivery of cannabis by regulated companies was introduced in Ontario in 2020 when restrictions were put in place to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. Under the temporary rules, licensed stores could use couriers to deliver products to customers. The province’s cannabis regulator, the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO), made home delivery rules permanent with several new restrictions in March.

Under the regulations, a cannabis delivery service must be part of a licensed brick-and-mortar store and must not derive its business primarily or exclusively from delivery sales. Orders must be placed and fulfilled with a specific store and not a network of stores. Third party deliveries are not permitted and all orders must be delivered while the pharmacy fulfilling the order is open for business. Because purchases are delivered by pharmacy staff, grocery orders through Uber Eats must be placed separately from cannabis delivery orders.

To place orders, customers can open the Uber Eats app and select the “Cannabis” category or search for one of the three retailers. The customer must be within the store’s delivery radius to place an order for delivery. As soon as an order is accepted by the dealer, the customer receives a notification about the approximate delivery time. When pharmacy staff arrive to deliver the order, they must verify the customer’s age and sobriety as per Ontario regulations and CannSell training.

Hidden Leaf co-owner Marissa Taylor said she wanted to work with Uber Eats and Leafly because she believes it will help her expand the customer base at her North York location, which already has a loyalty program.

“We’re a small company and really we just wanted to help bring cannabis to a larger number of people,” she said. “Accessibility isn’t always easy for everyone… and to expand our reach, e-commerce is definitely the way to go.”

Uber Eats’ partnership with Leafly marks the first of the meal delivery platform to offer customers home delivery of cannabis products. In November, Uber Eats launched a program that allows Ontario consumers to order cannabis through retail chain Tokyo Smoke’s app. However, the platform does not offer delivery, so customers have to visit a pharmacy to pick up orders.