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STUDENT JAKE ROWINSKI, a 20-year old University of Toronto Student, buys marijuana every week from one of the many ''self-described'' 'medical' dispensaries in downtown Toronto.
The illegal store sells openly to customers ranging from budget-minded recreational users like Rowinski to silver-haired grandmothers treating legitimate ailments.
''Nobody, really cares at this point,'' Rowinski said outside the shop, near the city's financial district.
As Canada's Liberal government prepares to legalize recreational marijuana use this summer, the biggest remaining obstacle to regulated sales will be competition from a thriving black market, according cannabis investors, researchers, policy analyst and government data.
Many buyers of illegal pot will have little incentive to switch to legal weed, which is expected to more expensive and less available because of strict regulations on sales, according hedge fund GTV Capital, which invests almost exclusively in Canadian cannabis stocks, and the Marijuana Policy Group, a U.S. research firm.
As the first major economy to fully legalize cannabis, Canada's regulatory rollout will be closed watched by other nations, considering the same path - and by global investors, who have already poured billions into Canadian marijuana firms.
Canada legalized medical marijuana in 2001, but still restricts it to mail-order purchases from licensed providers. That has spurred the proliferation of unsanctioned retailers like the one where Rowinski shops, which recently changed its name to Trees Station Medical Dispensary.
Employees in the store declined to comment.
Such illicit retailers may soon compete with new legal outlets, and many provinces plan initially to limit the number of government-operated or licensed stores. Medical marijuana, will remain legal only by mail, despite a push by major pharmacy chains to sell it.
The cautious approach could restrain legal investment in a market estimated by Statistics Canada at C$5.7 billion in 2017.
About a fifth of Canadians between 15 and 64 years old used marijuana, spending an average of C$1,200 per person at C$ 7.48 per gram, the agency found. Ninety percent of that money was spent illegally.
The Honor and Serving of the latest Global Operational Research on Marijuana and Advanced Nations and Economies continues to Part 2.
The illegal store sells openly to customers ranging from budget-minded recreational users like Rowinski to silver-haired grandmothers treating legitimate ailments.
''Nobody, really cares at this point,'' Rowinski said outside the shop, near the city's financial district.As Canada's Liberal government prepares to legalize recreational marijuana use this summer, the biggest remaining obstacle to regulated sales will be competition from a thriving black market, according cannabis investors, researchers, policy analyst and government data.
Many buyers of illegal pot will have little incentive to switch to legal weed, which is expected to more expensive and less available because of strict regulations on sales, according hedge fund GTV Capital, which invests almost exclusively in Canadian cannabis stocks, and the Marijuana Policy Group, a U.S. research firm.
As the first major economy to fully legalize cannabis, Canada's regulatory rollout will be closed watched by other nations, considering the same path - and by global investors, who have already poured billions into Canadian marijuana firms.
Canada legalized medical marijuana in 2001, but still restricts it to mail-order purchases from licensed providers. That has spurred the proliferation of unsanctioned retailers like the one where Rowinski shops, which recently changed its name to Trees Station Medical Dispensary.
Employees in the store declined to comment.
Such illicit retailers may soon compete with new legal outlets, and many provinces plan initially to limit the number of government-operated or licensed stores. Medical marijuana, will remain legal only by mail, despite a push by major pharmacy chains to sell it.
The cautious approach could restrain legal investment in a market estimated by Statistics Canada at C$5.7 billion in 2017.
About a fifth of Canadians between 15 and 64 years old used marijuana, spending an average of C$1,200 per person at C$ 7.48 per gram, the agency found. Ninety percent of that money was spent illegally.
The Honor and Serving of the latest Global Operational Research on Marijuana and Advanced Nations and Economies continues to Part 2.
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