It’s essential to note that the formation of the OCS naturally created the segregation of recreational marijuana from liquor, and it was sanctioned that Cannabis was to be sold exclusively in Ontario via the OCS. The deployment of 40 retail stores in the region for the first year of trading would help demand meet supply, with the locations of the first stores announced in late 2017.

However, after elections in 2018, the newly elected Premier of the province Doug Ford, issued a press release that the OCS would no longer set up 40 stores in 2018 (150 by 2020), and these would be privatized, with the OCRC acting as the wholesaler for offline sales. Consequently, entrepreneurs drew up plans for cannabis stores with iPads and computers to manage ordering and make the process more efficient as privately owned businesses.

As a result, the Ontario Cannabis Store would only retail direct to consumers via a website developed via a partnership with the Canadian tech giant Shopify.

However, shortly after, the OCRC shifted from under the authority of the LCBO to the Ministry of Finance. Offline sales of Cannabis in Ontario were instead now managed via an extended remit granted to The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO). The ORC still managed recreational cannabis sales in Ontario online exclusively.