When recreational marijuana first became legal in Canada, it was exciting to stand in line at a dispensary. What a momentous occasion! But that excitement quickly wears off when you need to just pop into a dispensary for a refill of your favourite strains. No one likes to go out of their way to the one dispensary in the area and wait in line. 

There is another option. You can buy weed online in Canada! All you need to do is click a few buttons, type a few numbers, and wait for your weed to be delivered to your doorstep. You can do it all while smoking a joint. 

If you’re nervous about the idea of buying your weed online, you’re not alone. An overwhelming majority of marijuana sales come from brick-and-mortar locations, even in provinces and territories where there are only a handful of dispensaries. In Ontario, 80% of marijuana sales happen in person. These numbers reach the 90s in places like Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. 

Should you be cautious when buying weed online? Sure. You should be cautious about buying anything online. But you don’t have to avoid this convenient option altogether. Know the facts before you buy weed online. The more you know, the easier it will be to spot “shady” situations and get the most out of your digital purchase. 

Ready to buy some weed online? This guide will take you through every step of the process, from shopping online to getting it delivered. In detail. 

Trusted online dispensaries work closely with Canada Post to ensure that each purchase goes where it needs to go without any trouble. If you encounter an online dispensary that wants to cut corners or doesn’t give you all the information you need about buying and shipping weed throughout Canada, you might not want to trust them. 

Is It Legal To Buy Weed Online? 

Yes! As long as you follow regulations about age and quantity, you can buy weed online or at a registered brick-and-mortar location. 

Remember, you have to be 19 years old to buy and possess marijuana in Canada. (Alberta allows 18 year olds to have weed, and Québec recently raised the legal age to 21. Sorry, Quebeckers.) Dispensaries and Canada Post have ways to make sure everyone is abiding by these laws – but we’ll get to that later. 

What About Edibles? 

Edibles didn’t gain legal status at the same time as bud or concentrates. It took a whole year for Canada to legalize the sale of edibles. This means that you can buy THC-infused baked goods, candies, and other edible products online without any worries! 

Online dispensaries can also sell all of the accessories and concentrates that you need to customise your marijuana experience, including:

• Shatter
• Budder
• Hash
• Live Resin
• Distillates
• Oils 
• Pre-rolls (and rolling paper) 
• Tinctures and topicals
• Bongs
• Vaporizers
• Grinders 

Stock varies depending on the dispensary. 

How Much Weed Can I Buy Online? 

Canadians can only keep 30 grams on their person in a public place, but there are no limits to how much weed you can have on private property. (Landlords may set their own rules regarding possession and marijuana consumption.) This means that all of the buds that you harvest from your plants can be stored and used later. 

This also means that there aren’t hard-and-fast limits as to what you can buy from an online dispensary. Dispensaries that allow for in-store pick-up may set limits based on Canada’s rules about public possession. Online dispensaries that only ship their products are likely to have looser restrictions on how much you can buy at a time. 

Prefer a US Online Dispensary? Too Bad. 

Weed grown in Canada stays in Canada. Don’t buy a bunch of weed before your road trip down to the United States. If you are caught crossing the border with marijuana, even if you’re crossing into a state where marijuana is legal, you’ll get in big trouble. 

This means that weed grown in the United States also stays in the United States. Check to make sure the dispensary you want to use is Canadian. Recreational marijuana will not travel from the United States to a Canadian shipping address. Similarly, most Canadian dispensaries require a Canadian shipping address in order to make a purchase. 

What About CBD? 

Hemp is a different story. Some CBD retailers in the United States allow shipment to Canada with permission from Health Canada. Check the retailer’s FAQ page for more information on whether they ship to Canada and what documents you may need to submit before you make a purchase. 

How Do I Make a Purchase Online? 

Every dispensary handles the purchase process differently. Dispensaries with brick-and-mortar locations may require you to make a purchase when you pick your items up in the store. Other dispensaries may require that you make an account with them first. This helps to ensure that the purchase is secure and that your items are being sent to the right person. 

At Speed Greens, we require customers to make an account and provide us with some information before making a purchase. This information does not include credit card numbers or any financial information that may be compromised. You can quickly create an account and get back to shopping. 

When you are ready to make a purchase, you will have to pay through an Interac E-transfer. In order to complete the Interac E-transfer, you will have to confirm your age and your Canadian address. You will also need to have an online banking account in order to complete the transaction. (Without an online banking account, you are pretty much limited to using cash at brick-and-mortar dispensaries.) 

Speed Greens ships orders only once the Interac E-transfer is completed. True to our name, we keep the process moving along fast. If everything goes to plan, your package will be on its way to your home within one day of your successful Interac E-transfer.

Am I At Risk of Identity Theft When I Buy Weed Online? 

A lot of the fear around online dispensaries doesn’t have to do with buying weed online. It’s about giving your personal and financial information to a possibly fake business that could steal your identity. We can’t speak for every online dispensary, but we can tell you how we handle your information. 

When you make a purchase with Speed Greens, we send your information to an off-shore server that uses 256-bit encryption software. The servers regularly wipe their data so you don’t have to worry about it sitting around. 

Are The Feds Monitoring My Mail? 

It’s normal to be a little paranoid about your weed going through Canada Post. But they have been successfully shipping medical marijuana to Canadians since 2013. Canada Post already has procedures in place for handling and processing marijuana. 

They aren’t ravaging through every single package that looks like it could be weed. Online dispensaries often ship their orders with discreet packaging that doesn’t raise eyebrows, anyway. 

The only times when the federal government may interfere with your mail is:

• Emitting a strong odor (usually do to poor packaging) 
• Something that could help investigators with a criminal investigation (they will need a judicial authorization to search the mail) 

Packages that look “suspicious” may also be sent to local law enforcement. But don’t worry. If you are ordering your weed through an established retailer, your package will be neat and pretty when it’s delivered to your door. Trustworthy online dispensaries don’t want any problem with the federal government, either. 

How Do Dispensaries Check The Age of Their Customers?  

A good dispensary abides by Canada law. That’s why most dispensaries make you verify your age when you visit their website. But we all know that this method doesn’t exactly stop kids who really want to buy weed. 

There isn’t much stopping kids from stealing their parents’ information and making a purchase online. But Canada Post will stop kids from getting weed when it comes to their door. Canada Post employees are trained on how to check for IDs when delivering sensitive packages. If the person that comes to the door for their weed appears to be under the age of 25, the employee will check for ID and get a name and signature for the delivery. No exceptions. 

What Happens If My Weed Gets Stolen? 

Unfortunately, weed is a hot item to steal in certain provinces. Northern Quebec, Northern Ottawa, Nunavut, Northwest Territories and Yukon Territories tend to be hotspots for package theft. Not all online dispensaries ship to these areas because they don’t want packages to get stolen. 

Check with the dispensary about insurance policies. At Speed Greens, we limit where we ship our products, even though our packaging is discreet. If your package gets stolen in the provinces and territories mentioned above, we cannot guarantee that it will be replaced. 

To make sure your product gets to your home safely, you can opt to sign for your package. Simply check the “signature required” box when you check out. This ensures that the package will be delivered to your home. If the package goes missing or is not delivered, you may qualify to get up to $500 of your order replaced. (This is a one-time replacement.) 

How to Safely Buy Weed Online 

There are a lot of online dispensaries out there. Know how to determine which ones are safe and which ones might not be so secure. 

Read The FAQ Pages

Every dispensary handles payment, data storage, and shipping differently. Before you place an order online, look through the dispensary’s website. See what they have to say. The less information they have on their website, the more reasons you have to be suspicious. 

You can find most of the information you need on the website’s FAQ page. 

Seek Out Reviews 

You’re not the first person to order weed from a dispensary. See what others have to say about the dispensary. YouTube is a great source for finding reviews and getting an in-depth look at what your order will look like. Seeing a real person open and use the product with your own eyes is often more reassuring than just trusting a username. 

It’s just as important to leave a review after you’ve gotten your product! If you have a good (or bad) experience with an online dispensary, tell other shoppers! Every review helps to improve dispensaries and give customers the best experience. 

Be Patient

Legit dispensaries may make you jump through a few hoops to make an order. They want to make sure that you are the right age and going to use their products legally. Be patient. If you have to create an account or wait for approval before making a purchase, don’t get upset. A day or two waiting will make it easier to legally make online purchases in the future. You also won’t have to worry about any federal authorities knocking on your door! 

Start Shopping With Speed Greens 

Buying weed online in Canada can be safe and satisfying when you choose the right dispensary. The team at Speed Greens is passionate about providing high-quality service to all of our customers throughout Canada. Our team’s combined 45 years of experience in the cannabis business have taught us a lot about customer satisfaction, the quality of cannabis, and how to create the most enjoyable experience. We hope to use those lessons as we pick the best products, set up secure policies, and ship you high-quality weed, fast. 

Browse through our entire selection of marijuana and cannabis concentrates. Each of these products goes through strict quality assurance checks and in-house analysis to make sure that it’s safe and legit. Labels may promise high levels of THC (or no THC at all.) When you buy products from Speed Greens, you can trust the labels and trust that you’ll have the experience you want. 

What are you waiting for? Start shopping! Your products will be at your front doorstep in no time.