The first day of legal marijuana sales proved popular among British Columbians Wednesday as thousands made in-person purchases and placed orders online.
Some 800 sales were made at the first and, for now, only government-run store in Kamloops. Another 9,100 sales were made through the government website.
More than half of the cannabis flowers for sale sold out. Pre-rolled joints and capsules proved extremely popular too.
"We were aware that we may be facing some serious product shortages," said Kate Bilney of the BC Liquor Distribution Branch, which is in charge of government-run pot shops in the province.
"Some (licensed producers) did indicate that they weren't able to deliver all of their committed product."
The website was restocked overnight, but the supply might not last long.
Canopy Growth, which has a massive greenhouse in Delta, has committed to providing 70,000 kilograms of cannabis across Canada this year.
"We have transport trucks flying out of the place all the time," said CEO Bruce Linton. "We have about 100,000 units packed, ready to go wherever the orders come from right now… and we'll just keep going."
It's unclear, however, how much tax revenue all that cannabis is generating. While nearly every other province is announcing the dollar amount earned—some nearing $1 million on the first day alone—B.C. is refusing to provide such numbers, calling it "competitive information."
Earlier this week, Solicitor General Mike Farnworth did give an idea of where things might be headed.
"There is a modest number that has been booked in for the budget for this year," he said. "About $75 million, I believe it is."
What is clear, however, is that British Columbians are on board with legal pot in a big way.
"It appears, no big surprise, when cannabis is no longer prohibited and you don't have a concern with the law, people are going to buy it and they're going to relax and enjoy it," Linton said.
With files from CTV Vancouver's Breanna Karstens-Smith
.@BreannaCTV has the details on how many orders of legal weed the B.C. government processed, but officials are staying tight-lipped about how much money was earned. Read more: https://t.co/mUHvZx6bn9 pic.twitter.com/EggYybHvf3
— CTV Vancouver (@CTVVancouver) October 19, 2018