Tweed Inc. supplier endorses mail-order pot system

While Ottawa navigates the steps it’ll take to legalize marijuana in Canada, the head of one of the country’s largest pot distributors supports the use of Canada Post as a convenient and immediate channel.

Mark Zekulin is the president of Tweed Inc., one of 27 licensed producers of medical marijuana in Canada. That means, the product they produce is highly regulated when it comes to security, labelling and traceability.

Tweed customers follow a series of steps, which starts with getting an assessment from a health care provider as to whether medical marijuana is the right avenue to take.

If so, the doctor signs a medical document, which is akin to a prescription that is sent into Tweed or other licensed producer. Orders are done online or over the phone and the product is then shipped out, usually via Canada Post, though occasionally through a courier system.

Zekulin says Tweed mails thousands of orders out every week, in packages that are odor-proof and discreet.

“It’s fully tracked door-to-door, not unlike how ordering wine works,” he tells Yahoo Canada News. “When it arrives, it will require a signature and ID to make sure you’re of age. The system is set up and it’s very secure.”

As provinces decide whether to distribute pot through liquor stores or dispensaries, Zekulin says his company won’t debate what’s the most effective approach. So far, Ontario, Manitoba and British Columbia have expressed interest in distributing the drug through provincial liquor stores.

While Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne called it an idea that “makes sense,” a December poll found that 47 per cent of those surveyed in Ontario disapprove of the idea of selling the drug at the LCBO, while 57 per cent were in favour of it being sold at specialized marijuana dispensaries.

Zekulin says all methods have pros and cons but that the upside to distributing marijuana through the mail has many immediate advantages.

“The mail system can be implemented very quickly and very cautiously while those other models are looked at, whether it’s the LCBO or private distribution,” he says. “This is an established system and compared to the alternatives, it’s a simple starting point.”

As Bill Blair, Toronto’s former police chief and now parliamentary secretary to Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould, begins to examine how to tackle marijuana legalization, Zekulin says he and other company officials hope to meet with him.

“We’d welcome the chance to sit down with Bill Blair and explain this to him and anyone else who’s interested in understanding what that looks like,” he says.

While some predict it will take several years to fully implement legalization, Zekulin stresses that the mail delivery system will move things along for now while provinces decide how they’ll manoeuvre the change.

“There’s a lot of confusion as to what’s going on and…I think there’s merit to moving quickly,” he says. “It adds certainty. The mail system is proven and works well and can be done quickly. As a first step, that’s the right move.”

A Canada Post spokesman said in an email the Crown corporation will follow the law when it comes to sending legalized marijuana through the mail in the future.

“If it is legal to mail we will accept it and if it is deemed not to be legal to go through the mail, then obviously we won’t,” spokesman John Caines said in the email.

On Canada Post’s customer guide to parcel link for commercial customers, it states prohibited and restricted items include drugs and other controlled substances, as well as those that omit an offensive odor.

It also states that “controlled products may be permitted in the mail but have special requirements or require special documentation…These items must be properly prepared and meet applicable requirements for mailing.”