Poutine and Weed Delivery: Québec is About to Become a Stoner’s Paradise

Ah Quebec, where the closest beer is never further than a fire hydrant. Canada’s little taste of Europe has always had a more laid-back way of life, and thank god because imagine trying to hustle with all of Montreal’s road closures? As the province hammers out its plans for legal marijuana, it considers one service that pot smokers have always dreamed about: legal weed delivery.

Like its neighboring Ontario, Quebec plans to sell marijuana exclusively through its Crown corporation liquor service, the Société des alcools du Québec (or SAQ for short), even though alcohol can be purchased at the corner store. Like its alcohol, customers only have to be 18 years old to purchase marijuana. Its cannabis storefronts will be called Societé Québécoise du Cannabis, or SQC, and will have 20 locations for the pilot period. That’s not a whole lot of stores for an entire province. For example, I’m unnerved my city has less than 20 Wendy’s.  

The province is also barring anyone from growing their own plants, an unusual and strict deviation from much of the country. This makes weed much more difficult to acquire compared to other provinces, though there is one way Quebec is compensating. A collaboration between the SAQ and Canada Post, Quebec looks to make smoker’s lives easier with an online ordering system. Buyers can pre-order their weed ahead of going to the store, but they can also order the cannabis right to their door.  

“We have to be flexible enough to adapt as we go along because we are not naive,” said Quebec Finance Minister Carlos Leitao, “we know that the black market will certainly react also to what we are doing.”

It probably won’t arrive before the pizza, but it’s a feature that’ll give Quebec’s cannabis service an edge. Not to mention it’ll benefit the Canada Post, which like postal services around the world is struggling to keep up with cultural changes. In recent history, they controversially talked about ending door-to-door delivery to save on costs. The Canadian Union of Postal Workers anticipates this decision.

“We already deliver most of the medicinal marijuana in this country and there are certain protocols and protections in place around that,” said union head Mike Palecek, “so it’s normal that the province would look for an option such as Canada Post to make sure everything is secure.”

If only we could get the Canada Post to send a plate of poutine, too.