Is there a Shortage of Marijuana Seeds Supply in Canada

Undoubtedly, it is too naïve for anyone engaged in the cannabis niche to believe that with the Cannabis Act coming into force, the pot industry in Canada would be “automatically” tailored to run smoothly, quickly harnessing tremendous success in accumulated revenue.

Whether it be Canadian businesses or users of the herb, it is equally relevant, and nonetheless, essential, to apprehend that the cannabis shortage we’ve already witnessed within the first half of 2019, including but not limited to shortage of marijuana seeds supply, is pretty much “doomed” to continue for an unclear period of time.

Interestingly, there are experts who claim that the cannabis seeds shortage is already under control, and therefore, is expected to reach a resolution point by the end of 2019/ beginning of 2020. However, the entrepreneurs who are more into having their feet on the ground rather than flying high on the wings of euphoria related with expected profit from the cannabis business niche understand perfectly well that the best things in life do take time, and the case with addressing marijuana seeds supply shortage is not any different.

Ultimately, some will tell you that there is no shortage of marijuana seeds supply in Canada at all, while others will tell you that the shortage is dire, although cannabis seeds supply in general does not receive all the public attention it truly deserves, as many businesses are busy being focused on evaluating the so-called hottest trends in cannabis, such as CBD sales, the expected boom of edibles and cannabis-laced beverages, etc.

Yet in the meantime, growers are busy ordering seeds from the black market in the absence of seeds to purchase from various businesses that can legitimately sell “the magic beans,” such as grocery stores, hardware stores, garden centers, smoke shops, and online convenience shops, to name a few. But after all, who is to blame marijuana enthusiasts for simply wanting to take advantage of their sacred right to grow up to 4 cannabis plants per household?

Below, we will introduce you with the latest facts on cannabis seeds shortage in Canada, so that you can make the needed conclusions by and for yourself.

Government Weed Seed Deals: High Times or Low Times for Canadian Pot Growers?

As of October 17, 2018, Canadian recreational cannabis users have been disappointingly plagued with the inability to purchase marijuana seeds or clones from a legal source.

That was supposed to change dramatically with one of the online recreational cannabis dispensaries in Canada taking the lead by listing two types of cannabis seeds available for sale in early 2019, one of which features a balanced THC to CBD ratio, while the other being THC dominant.

Both types of cannabis varieties were available to grow only from regular seeds at a price of $60 per pack.

Regular seeds give way to an equal percentage of male and female cannabis plants. Male plants are undesirable for many growers whose major goal is to harvest as much cannabis flowers as possible within a relatively short period of time. And so, in the absence of feminized and/or autoflowering seeds to choose from, Canadian cannabis enthusiasts were brutally limited in their pot cultivation journey, even when experts claimed that the situation is “handled”.

Furthermore, based on government standards, four grams of dried cannabis equals 4 seeds, and so when buying four regular seeds, standing a 50% chance of being female, growers are basically left with two seeds that still have to sprout before one is to celebrate the beginning of a (hopefully) successful cannabis grow operation.  With this in mind, given 100% performance, Canadians should be lucky to have a total of 2 useful seeds from these packages, as part of the government’s plan to address cannabis seeds shortage.

Ultimately, since legal cannabis seed sales are only permitted by licensed producers for medical marijuana patients, or based on a business-to-business model (think of recreational dispensaries), marijuana seed sales are bound to remain rather limited in both accessibility and supply.

That’s one more reason why the grey area options have gained more and more cannabis horticulturist as part of their client list, offering a far larger variety of marijuana seeds to choose from.

When it comes to “that guy around the corner” type of black market offering marijuana seeds for sale, this particular segment remains quite incapable of competing with high-quality marijuana seeds producers, suppliers, and retailers, though, so at least one side of the cannabis shortage coin seems not to need further tackling.

Growing Cannabis from Seed: A Dream Come True for Marijuana Users yet only a Small Business Segment for Gargantuan Cannabis Companies?

According to Global News Canada, when Canopy shipped 500 packs containing 4 seeds each, these were sold at a record pace, with all supplies out of stock by the first half of January 2019. Yet in the meantime, Canopy’s Vice president Jordan Sinclair highlighted that he doesn’t really expect for a spike in winter cannabis seeds demand, because of the expenses related with indoor cannabis growing that can reach “thousands of dollars,” as Sinclair stated, although every average pot user can tell you that growing weed indoors can be successfully accomplished even if using a super affordable $300 starter grow setup.

Is it possible that Sinclair is trying to shift the focus from cannabis seeds shortage to other cannabis products that his company finds far more profitable than selling marijuana seeds? Maybe, but while some are busy evaluating the pros and cons of growing cannabis, others are busy establishing a fruitful partnership with wholesale marijuana seeds suppliers in Canada, and enjoying high paybacks from what large business sharks like Sinclair refer to as a “not a large part” of their cannabis business venture, the cannabis seeds sales segment.

But what about any clue on the expected by many renaissances of recreational cannabis grown at-home, with more starting material going live for sale in a big number of provinces?

Only time can give an answer to this question, yet if we are about to tap into the insights shared by one of British Columbia’s activists, Dana Larsen, who claims to have given away about 9 million illicit cannabis seeds within a period of only two years (2016 – 2019), we are bound to witness the cannabis grow fever reaching more and more publicity.

Is There a Shortage of Marijuana Seeds Supply in Canada: The Bottom Line

If there is only one problem for Canadians who wanted to get started growing cannabis, this problem can be pretty much summed down to the absence of legal seeds or clones anywhere at regulated marijuana retail stores all across the country, and not only in one single province.

In the peak of the rush to get high-quality cannabis oil and dried cannabis to the market (something that has much to do with the seemingly greater revenue potential of cannabis oil and dried flowers), cannabis producers relinquished producing, as well as selling “the magic beans” for the recreational grow-your-own-cannabis community, thus, creating a large gap between what the consumer market craved for vs. what they finally got after the long-anticipated cannabis legalization finally turned into reality.

Based on an explicit research paper compiled by authors Anindya Sen (Professor of Economics at the University of Waterloo) and Rosalie Wyonch (C.D. Howe Institute Policy Analyst), supply projections based on indicated $9 per gram make up for “87% of the resulting tax loss” to be attributed to the black market, while the remaining 13% are to be attributed to “supply shortage in the legal market”. While this particular example evaluates the dried cannabis flowers shortage, trying to figure out whether there is a shortage of marijuana seeds cannot be possibly accomplished without taking into account the completed sales of dried cannabis flowers, as those who consume cannabis flowers are actually all potential cannabis growers.

Ultimately, as far as the government’s job is concerned, there is a cannabis seeds shortage in Canada, yet if you are about to ask the average cannabis enthusiast, there is nothing that can stop users from laying hands-on “the magic beans,” and so the sooner your business gets into the profitable cannabis seeds business niche, the better for the grower’s community, and the better for your moneymaking business strategy.