Thursday marks the first anniversary of the legalization of marijuana in Canada.
But local cannabis entrepreneur Jon Liedtke says legalization has come with it's ups and downs.
He says on a larger scale, legalization is heading in the right direction, but on the local level access to pot has been a headache.
Liedtke says with no brick and mortar store in place customers have been forced to use the online Ontario Cannabis Store which, after being launched, was plagued with product shortages and long shipping times.
He says there's no question the whole process is going to take quite a while.
"It was always going to take time to transition consumers into the legal sphere," says Liedtke. "We can see that some provinces have done a better job at that than others. Alberta, for example, with over 300 stores licensed now has a much more robust marketplace."
He says there are a lot of parallels with prohibition.
"If we look back to prohibition of alcohol and when it ended, it still took time to displace the existing entrenched black market. So it's going to take, probably, I would say a generation or two to fully displace or eliminate the black market," says Liedtke.
Jon Liedtke is photographed at Higher Limits Lounge in Windsor on April 13, 2017. (Photo by AM800's John Hutton)
He says, until consumers are given what they want, many will continue relying on the black market.
"Consumers are looking for quality, price and convenience and right now the existing black market can provide all three. Whereas, the legal market can't offer a better price, it can't offer a more convenient access and when it comes to quality, the illicit product is far superior in a lot of cases," says Liedtke.
Back in August, a Windsor application was selected in the province's retail pot shop license lottery.
The operator plans to have the store at 545 Ouellette Ave. open by November 1.
The next step for cannabis legalization — pot-infused edibles which are expected to hit the market in mid-December.