Uber is partnering with a cannabis retailer in Canada to allow cannabis purchases via its Uber Eats food delivery platform. The arrangement does not include delivery of weed orders, however, but makes it possible for users in Ontario to order products from Tokyo Smoke in a dedicated section on the Uber Eats app.
For customers in Ontario, in the Uber Eats app, select either the “cannabis” category or search for “Tokyo Smoke.” After confirming their age, the customer is directed to the menu of a Tokyo Smoke store in the area to place their order, which Uber says will be filled within an hour. The consumer then picks up their order at the Tokyo Smoke store.
Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said in April that the company would take a look at cannabis delivery “when the road is clear.” In February, the ride-hailing giant acquired Boston-based alcohol delivery service Drizly for $1.1 billion. But Lantern, a cannabis delivery service Drizly launched in May 2020, was not part of that deal.
The companies did not mention plans to expand into other Canadian provinces, but Uber Eats head of communications for delivery Meghan Casserly confirmed that the new arrangement with Tokyo Smoke is “pickup only.”
Canada legalized recreational cannabis in October 2018, and 2021 cannabis sales there are predicted to reach $4 billion. In the US, recreational cannabis is legal in 18 states, and medical marijuana use is legal in some three dozen states. However, marijuana remains illegal at the federal level, despite repeated attempts to decriminalize it. In July, Sens. Cory Booker (D-NJ), Chuck Schumer (D-NY), and Ron Wyden (D-OR) released a discussion draft of legislation that proposed sweeping reform to marijuana policy in the US.