Shoppers Drug Mart Launches Online Cannabis Site

Medical marijuana patients in Ontario can now make cannabis purchases online through Shoppers Drug Mart’s new website: https://cannabis.shoppersdrugmart.ca. The website recently launched and is designed for patients and provides information for consumers interested in learning more about medical marijuana. It’s a good opportunity for people who are unsure of whether medical marijuana is right for them to learn more about it.

Consumers can learn about the different strains and forms of cannabis and the site also offers answers to frequently asked questions. However, the information is abbreviated and wouldn’t serve much more than a starting point for most users, but it’s a good start nonetheless.

Registration process will take some time

Before being able to order cannabis products from the website, a patient will need to register and submit a medical document that needs to be signed by a healthcare professional, which is very similar to a prescription. The document will need to be mailed, faxed, or dropped off to Shoppers before the website can authorize you to purchase cannabis.

However, you don’t have to be registered to view the products that are available online. Currently, there are 24 medical cannabis products listed on the site. In addition to the price, name and company that makes it, you can see the amount of cannabidiol and tetrahydrocannabinol that is contained in each product as well. Aphria Inc (TSX:APHA)(NYSE:APHA) makes up a big chunk of the list with eight of its products currently on the site while Tilray Inc (NASDAQ:TLRY) has six listed under its name.

Overall, the e-commerce site has a similar shopping experience to what you’d find at any online merchant. It’s easy to use and it provides many filters available for consumers looking to narrow in on their desired product. While the selection is not significant by any stretch, it definitely has potential.

How does it compare with the Ontario Cannabis Store?

The Ontario Cannabis Store (OCS) offers consumers a similar experience, although it’s not as quick and easy to use as the Shoppers site is. While Shoppers has fewer products, all of them can be accessed and filtered through on a single page. On the OCS site there are separate pages for each type of product and the filters are not as user-friendly.

However, the OCS does have much more information about cannabis and looks to be a much better source of information for people looking to learn about it. The selection on the OCS website also offers consumers significantly more types of products to choose from. Whether consumers feel they can trust the OCS after the problems it had early on, however, is the big question.

Bottom line

It’s good for consumers in Ontario to have different options to purchase cannabis from. But many are still likely weary about making purchases online using their credit cards out of concern that they might run into issues at the border for doing so.

Pot shops will offer consumers the anonymity that they’ll likely desire, but it won’t be until later this year that Ontario will see them open for business.