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TORONTO — The Canadian online cannabis stores powered by Shopify Inc.’s e-commerce software are collectively processing more than 100 orders per minute, the Ottawa-based company said, an indication of the high demand for newly-legal pot.

Since recreational cannabis was legalized in Canada at midnight, local time, the government-operated websites and private retailer portals powered by Shopify have processed “hundreds of thousands” of orders since cannabis was legalized at the stroke of midnight, said vice-president Loren Padelford.

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These online stores have seen “millions of visitors” from Canada and around the world in the hours since they went live at 12:01 a.m. local time.

“For 12 hours in and the number of stores that are live, that’s a pretty big number,” Padelford said.

Canadians of adult age are now able to purchase non-medical cannabis online or in physical outlets across the country for the first time — marking a massive shift in the country’s drug policy and the opening of what some are expecting to be a massive and lucrative market. It could be worth as much as $4 billion in the first year, according to a report from consultancy Deloitte.