LONDON

No click-and-collect pot purchase from private retailers in Ontario

The Canadian Press Published Thursday, January 31, 2019 4:51PM EST

Cannabis buds lay along a drying rack at the CannTrust Niagara Greenhouse Facility in Fenwick, Ont., on Tuesday, June 26, 2018. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/ Tijana Martin)

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TORONTO -- The Ontario cannabis retail regulator says private pot retailers will not be able to offer a click-and-collect service that would allow consumers to buy online and pick it up at the physical store.

The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario says cannabis customers will have to order and purchase pot products in person at licensed recreational pot stores.

The AGCO reiterated in a posting outlining frequently asked questions today that the Ontario Cannabis Store continues to be the only legal e-commerce portal for buying adult-use pot.

So-called click-and-collect services have been increasingly offered by retailers over the years, and is an option when buying alcohol online from the province's distributor, the LCBO.

Currently, recreational pot can only be bought online but earlier this month 25 entities were selected through an AGCO lottery to apply for the first 25 retail licences to open stores in April.

Meanwhile, earlier this month 77 Ontario municipalities or fewer than 20 per cent have said they are unwilling to host cannabis shops within their municipalities at this stage.