Introduction to Weedmaps – Is it shutting down?
Weedmaps has been serving the weed community since 2008. Since its founding, it has strived to create a platform to allow people to buy weed safely and securely. It serves as a handy map of both local physical and online weed dispensaries. This allows people to choose what works best for them, their budget and their schedule. However, as of September 2020, Weedmaps has begun to pull online dispensaries and unlicensed weed deliveries from the platform.
This isn’t exactly new. In August 2019, an announcement was made regarding the intention of Weedmaps to help people apply for licenses in order to be regulated. At the same time, they starting filtering out unlicensed distributors. The latter didn’t happen immediately. Think of it a little like how Instagram didn’t immediately remove people who it considered to be breaking the guidelines. Instead, it has gradually implemented a digital stranglehold regarding their posts. This includes not publishing them in the recent posts feed and eliminating them from search results. Essentially, it is the same method on a different platform.
Now however, Weedmaps is shutting down what is known as the ‘grey market’ competition to physical weed dispensaries. This refers to branded merchandise – in this case, weed – being sold by companies and individuals outside of official channels. This covers online dispensaries and postal weed delivery. This will effectively mean that Weedmaps will only show the location of physical government-regulated weed dispensaries.
Weedmaps, Legal Dispensaries and the Shutting Down of Weed Delivery
The shutting down of online weed delivery via Weedmaps was requested – pushed for, in fact – by licensed retailers. They pushed the RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) to deal with what was quickly becoming a source of competition for them. Online weed purchasing and delivery in the modern age are quick, simple and easy to arrange. They can fit around someone’s schedule and allow them to get the products they want, when they want. Part of the reason why this is a challenge to physical dispensaries is because they are not allowed to deliver their weed in the same manner. Their weed cannot be purchased online and then delivered through the postal system. The closest that they can come to matching online dispensaries is a curb-side pick-up service. While this does work during the situation we find ourselves in at present, the Covid-19 pandemic, it still doesn’t meet the flexibility and ease of use of ordering entirely online. You still need to set aside time in the day to make it down to the store.
Weedmaps – Online Weed Dispensaries versus Legal Dispensaries
Online weed dispensaries like Top Shelf BC are a streamlined combination being equipped with in-depth knowledge and competitive. This is while not seeking to establish a stranglehold on other sellers in the province. On the other hand, government-regulated dispensaries are pushing for anything other than their physical stores to be wiped off the map, figuratively and literally. Online weed dispensaries like Top Shelf BC let you buy weed at a time that is convenient for you. The safety and security of both your purchase and of your details is a high priority. The argument therefore cannot be made that the consumer is not at the front and centre of either dispensaries’ mind.
There is, although the government-regulated dispensaries would likely argue contrary to the fact, a massive distinction between black-market weed sellers and online dispensaries. On the contrary online dispensaries are branded, have years of experience under their belt and are built through the reviews of customers who’ve bought high quality weed that they can use safe in the knowledge that it hasn’t been tampered with. The use of the Internet as a selling platform does not mean that there are lesser standards of quality adhered to. We pride ourselves on selling the best quality weed online that we have available.
Alternatives to Weedmaps
As Weedmaps is no longer a viable platform to find weed online due to the new restrictions, an alternative is to use consumer reviews and Google to find online weed dispensaries that deliver in your area such as Top Shelf BC. Going to the sellers direct will help them to keep going during the pandemic and after while allowing you to buy the weed that you want online in a way that fits around your schedule.
We aren’t saying that government-regulated dispensaries shouldn’t exist. There will always be people who prefer visiting a physical store. They like integrating buying their weed with the rest of their shopping involving a footfall into brick-and-mortar stores. That said, online dispensaries are only bound to become more popular in the digital age. People are increasingly doing more things online such as booking holidays, food shopping and yes, buying weed online as well.
Conclusion – The Future of Weedmaps
After over a decade of connecting buyers and sellers of weed in Canada, Weedmaps is buckling under the pressure from government-regulated companies. It is beginning to filter out online dispensaries and illegal weed sellers. While this will still allow people to find physical weed stores local to them, they will no longer be listing online dispensaries like Top Shelf BC. This is a disappointing backwards step. But remember, you can always buy directly from online weed dispensaries following a little bit of research to find the one that’s right for you.
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