The educated guesses of some industry insiders are none-too-comforting: Canada’s cannabis shortage—not so nationally, but definitely an issue regionally—looks to have peaked a mere five months post-legalization, but could still last upwards of three years.
While Jo Vos, managing director at Leafly, is optimistic that licensed producers will be able to “taper out the shortage very quickly,” she and the Leafly team have clocked serious customer concerns. “There’s a lot of uncertainty about what’s available in-store—we’re seeing a lot of feedback from across the country, through retailers, that if people are not able to rely on legal supply, they’re going back to the black market—which is a given,” she says.
Vos says that the new live menus are a new way for customers to access what they’re looking for, with the aid of thousands of user-generated reviews, circumventing mounting frustrations in a consumer culture that is very much, as she describes it, “click to purchase to doorstep.” For retailers, the live menus are one less agenda item for them, as the add-on will update product prices and availability for all strains listed on Leafly.