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Ontario has an ever-growing number of cannabis stores, and the province has just taken another step that may surprise you.
6 of Spades in Toronto became the province’s 1,000th cannabis store when it opened in August.
You can now shop at over 1,000 licensed cannabis retailers across Ontario, owned and operated by your local Buds. Find a store near you: https://t.co/GA1K26YcY7 pic.twitter.com/3ElBh7ZxZG
– Ontario Cannabis Store (@ONCannabisStore) August 20, 2021
According to the OCS website, Toronto alone currently has about 250 cannabis stores, which is about a quarter of the province’s total. It is also four times more cannabis dispensaries than liquor stores.
That’s a big step up from the five initially allowed in the city when pottery shops opened in Ontario. Launched in April 2019, another 42 opened in Toronto at the end of the same year, and a cap on the number of pot stores was lifted by AGCO in January 2020.
I forgot how much I love Toronto. I also forgot how many cannabis stores there are. it’s like 5 on every block at this point how did they all have business
– dani (@daniwohl) 23 Aug 2021
Toronto’s stores are all crammed into 630 square kilometers of space, and dozens more are still being processed through the AGCO.
Take a walk down a main street in Toronto and you’ll likely come across several dispensaries within a few blocks of each other.
Even in the past few days, OCS has announced the opening of half a dozen new pot stores in Ontario on its Twitter account.
HEY @cityoftoronto – this is no longer a joke. Enough with the cannabis stores. Enough fucking licenses or whatever. There are enough. Stop that. Seriously. #Toronto #Ontario @ONgov https://t.co/objfWGDW8X
– Christophe (@teesang) 23 Aug 2021
Family owned and run 6 of Spade was opened by Amiga Wheatle and her husband Jeremiah, who celebrated their first day in business with a DJ, educational workshops and freebies.
Located in Little Portugal, the store measures 700 square feet and features African artwork on the walls and a mural featuring prominent black figures, Emperor Haile Selassie, Muhammad Ali, Madame CJ Walker and Bob Marley. Business owners also aim to address historical inequalities around cannabis policing through their hiring practices.
Are cannabis stores the new Starbucks in Toronto? #AskingForAFriend
– Surkhab Peerzada (@ToSurkhab) August 28, 2021
The OCS website shouted out other landmark stores in a roundup celebrating the arrival of 1,000, including the first store in Peel Region (Ganjika in Brampton) and the northernmost store in Ontario (Off the Stem in Kapuskasing).
It remains to be seen whether the 1,000 stores will remain open or whether we have reached a saturation point, but some cannabis stores that have opened in the past two years are already closing.
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