Canada Post resumed delivery of cannabis products to people’s doors at the end of August.
The decision, announced in early September, applies to all products requiring a proof of age, signature items and customs-owing items, including cannabis products.
The change comes after nearly 18 months of COVID-related restrictions, first announced in March 2020 to “help minimize points of close contact”. While packages that did not require a signature or other direct interaction with their postal delivery person could still safely be dropped off at the door, anything that needed a signature required the person to go to a postal centre to sign for and pick up their package.
Cannabis products that are not from a commercial source, such as a friend sending up to 30 grams of dried cannabis (or its equivalent) has been allowed in Canada since legalization, and does not require an ID or signature upon delivery.
The BC Cannabis store’s online portal recently noted the change on their website, noting that the new protocols for Canada Post will involve the postal carrier to ask to “verify your age by displaying a piece of government ID and then being asked for a ‘verbal’ signature that will be acknowledged to complete delivery. If your address is not eligible for a verbal signature, the current process will be in effect and a card will be left for you to visit the post office for pick-up with government ID as proof of age and address.”
Postal employees will be required to wear a face covering and maintain a two-metre distance from customers. The changes only apply to homes with their own outdoor entrance. Those living in apartments or other such settings will still need to collect their packages at their local postal centre.
In Ontario, provincial cannabis rules allows First Nations to ask the Ontario Cannabis Store to not deliver recreational cannabis and related products to their reserve. The province currently lists three communities who have made such a request.
The following First Nations have passed relevant band council resolutions and have taken the steps necessary for the OCS to operationalize their request: Kingfisher Lake First Nation, Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug, and Kasabonika Lake First Nation.
