Ontario Cannabis Delivery, Curbside Pickup to Become Permanent
Ontario cannabis businesses that became accustomed to providing delivery and curbside pickup services during 2020 government shutdowns associated with COVID-19 can now utilize those supply avenues for the foreseeable future.
The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) announced March 1 that the temporary provisions that authorized cannabis delivery and curbside pickup—through the Reopening Ontario Act of 2020—will become permanent March 15.
The announcement comes after Ontario, Canada’s largest adult-use market, had a record year of $1.47 billion in retail sales for 2021, representing a 106% year-over-year increase for the province.
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“Please note that the new rules for delivery still will not permit cannabis retail stores to operate entirely or predominantly as delivery businesses,” AGCO’s announcement stated. “The new rules will allow cannabis retailers to continue to safely offer consumers greater choice, convenience and access to legal recreational cannabis.”
AGCO’s new requirements for delivery include:
- Delivery orders must be placed with a specific store location.
- Delivery orders must originate and be fulfilled from that same store with products that are stored on premises.
- Cannabis cannot be removed from the store for delivery unless an order has been received.
- If cannabis is removed from the store for delivery but the delivery is not completed, the cannabis must be returned to the same store from which the delivery originated on the same day, and it must remain there until the next day on which delivery is attempted.
- Cannabis may only be delivered at a time when the physical cannabis retail store is open to the public.
- If the store is in a premises whose owner or landlord requires it to be closed to the public during the permitted hours of operation, the store may still complete deliveries between 9 a.m. and 11 p.m. Examples of such a scenario include retail stores located within malls. However, a store cannot deliver if the landlord or owner requires it to be closed and is an interested person in the holder of the Retail Store Authorization (RSA).
Deliveries can only be done by the RSA holder or their employees. Third-party delivery is not permitted.
In addition, deliveries are confined to residences or private places within Ontario, can only be made to those 19 years and older and must be to the address specified on the order, according to AGCO. Records of all deliveries must be maintained by cannabis businesses.
