Dankr.ca – Your Toronto Connection
Article by Leaf News
Dear Herb: Is it legal to order CBD oil and patches to Quebec from B.C.? The website I’m shopping on says they deliver Canada-wide. — Suzi Shopper
Dear Suzi: I don’t know for sure what online cannabis store you’re shopping at, but it sounds like an illegal operation based on the details you shared.
First, you said you’re interested in ordering CBD patches. That type of product is not currently approved for sale by Health Canada, so I don’t see how a legal, licensed website could sell it.
Second, you said the website ships to Quebec from B.C. Right now there’s only one legal place to buy non-medical cannabis online in B.C. — the government-operated BC Cannabis Stores website — and they don’t ship outside of British Columbia.
Your question raises a broader question: how are Canadians supposed to tell the difference between legal online cannabis stores and illegal online cannabis stores?
Canada is home to an abundance of illegal online cannabis dispensaries, which are sometimes called mail-order marijuana dispensaries, or MOMs. Many of these illegal e-commerce websites have features a shopper might reasonably expect from a legal, government-regulated retailer, such as requiring customers to verify their age by uploading an image of their government ID. (I’ve even seen illegal online cannabis retailers that collect provincial and federal taxes from customers.)
I asked Health Canada to share some advice on how Canadian cannabis consumers can distinguish between legal and illegal online cannabis stores. Here’s what they recommended:
