Ever since they legalized the little green plant for recreational and medical purposes on October 17, 2018, Canada seems to have been maintaining a pretty steady relationship with marijuana. However, problems with product inventory and exports have been raging across our neighbor to the north, but they seem to have been picking themselves up with perfect precision (as they always do). Nevertheless, in the wake of multiple data breaches at marijuana dispensaries, the Canadian privacy watchdog has urged citizens to avoid using credit cards and use good old-fashioned cash to pay for cannabis products. So what else has transpired in the beautiful northern territories? Let’s take a closer look at the credit vs. cash issue in Canada.
Dealing with Illegal Activity
Keep in mind that marijuana is still illegal at the federal level in multiple countries (including our very own United States of America), so the Canadians must walk a tightrope to ensure customer data does not fall into the wrong hands. (After all, they would not want an innocent Canadian buyer to be charged with illicit activity just because they purchased a weed chocolate bar.) Still, the ice is thin where this issue is concerned. In the wake of legalization, some countries will completely bar people who have purchased marijuana from entering their borders.
Combating the Crisis with Cash
In response to the growing concern about privacy, Privacy Commissioner Daniel Therrian has urged Canadians to purchase medical marijuana or recreational pot with cold hard cash and completely avoid the use of their credit cards at local retail outlets. According to Therrian, Canadians should also be wary of signing up for memberships or mailing lists related to the marijuana industry. Also, most importantly, he stresses that customers should always ask about how information will be stored.
So, as a result, you would think this would be an easy solution, right? In, short, the situation is a bit tighter than you would think. Due to the limited amount of pot retail stores in Ontario, cash is not always the go-to option for a large number of Canadians, who have to make a majority of purchases online. In fact, in Ontario, you can only purchase marijuana online (until April 2019).
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