Legalization of marijuana has arrived in Canada, and technology is playing a big role in this new industry, everything from artificial intelligence in production, to software for supply chain management, to e-commerce sites for distribution and apps to help track usage.
With Bloomberg predicting $4.5 billion in sales by 2021, there is a lot to be gained from entering the new cannabis industry and companies across Canada are looking to cash in, from Canadian tech-giant Shopify, to local startups, these organizations are finding new ways to plant their seeds in the recreational cannabis market.
The main way Canadians will be able to purchase recreational cannabis is through e-commerce, through either provincially or privately-run online stores. While regulations vary between the provinces and territories, some offering brick and mortar stores, some not, on Wednesday each launched an e-commerce site to provide consumers access to marijuana.
Shopify will be leading the way in Ontario, it was chosen by the provincial government to help run the online sales through the LCBO-owned Ontario Cannabis Store. The partnership announced in February uses the company’s cloud-based e-commerce software to allow consumers to purchase legal cannabis product from the provincially mandated store.