Rolling out a massive project like federal cannabis legalization is bound to have a few hiccups along the way. And since Canada legalized weed on October 17, there have already been at least a few setbacks. Most recently, the Ontario Cannabis Store (OCS) mislabelled the THC content of some of its products.
Mislabeled Flower
Consumers making purchases on the site first found the error. In particular, they found a big discrepancy when they tried to purchase a strain called Radiate.
On the OCS website, the strain is listed as having a 24 percent THC level. In reality, however, the particular strain being sold on the OCS site is much closer to 13 percent.
This error holds a lot of weight, particularly because when the OCS website went live, the mislabeled potency of Radiate initially had that strain as the store’s most potent product. But, as it turns out, Radiate is not as potent as the website said it was.
When the problem was pointed out by concerned customers, OCS quickly looked into the matter. Ultimately, it turned out that OCS had not committed the error.
Instead, the producer of Radiate had given OCS the incorrect information by mistake. TerrAscend Canada, the maker of Radiate, has since taken credit for the mislabeling incident. And since this first snafu, the company said it is taking steps to keep this type of error from happening again in the future.
Consumers are Getting Frustrated
This—and other similar mistakes—are beginning to frustrate some Canadian consumers.
For starters, the mislabelling on the OCS’s website was disconcerting for some, given that labeling is required by the national government and that THC content is such an important component of any given marijuana product.
Beyond that, there have been other missteps since weed became legal in Canada. For example, Ontario is also having issues getting shipments out on time. In fact, many customers who ordered marijuana on the OCS website on the first day of legalization have still not received their orders.
As reported by Canadian media source CBC, some consumers in Ontario have had to deal with both mislabeling mistakes and slow shipping.
For example, a man named Peter Lyon put in an order for Radiate only to discover the error in the listed THC content. And to make matters worse, he said he still hasn’t received the product.
“It’s strange for a brand new website to make a mistake in something important as THC content,” Lyon told the news outlet. “you don’t want to be taking something when you don’t’ really know what it is.”
He added: “It’s been over two weeks. It’s a little silly at this point.”
Elsewhere, consumers have complained of getting products that are incorrectly weighed. And many parts of the country are seeing product shortages.
In these instances, suppliers simply can’t keep up with the intense demand for legal weed. As a result, experts said it could take as long as 18 months before the country is producing enough weed to meet demand.
