Earlier this month, Ontario announced it would limit to 25 the number of initial licensed private retailers allowed to open on April 1 of next year. The government is attributing that decision to a lack of national supply. Ontario expects to receive around 60,000 kilograms of product from its suppliers in the first year of legalization, but provincial officials think their initial plans for an open retail market would require at least 250,000 kilograms a year to meet demand. (Globe and Mail)

Talking point: In order to lift the cap, sources told The Globe, the province would need to know that suppliers could produce something close to their 250,000-kilogram estimates. While the stores will be privately operated, the province remains involved in the marijuana retail supply chain—the Ontario Cannabis Store is the wholesale supplier. The previous Liberal government had planned 150 publicly operated stores by 2020. Initial federal data shows that in the first month of legalization, 7,000 kilograms of dried product and over 7,000 litres of oil were sold. While largely limited to online sales, projected over 12 months, those sales figures would come in far lower than what provincial officials have estimated.