Uber Eats Begins Cannabis Deliveries In Toronto Via Leafly Partnership

Starting Monday, Oct. 17, Uber Eats UBER will begin delivering cannabis in Toronto, the company announced on Sunday. 

In a partnership with cannabis website Leafly LFLY, this will be the first time in the world that cannabis delivery is available on a major third-party platform.

UberEats will start off delivering to customers in Toronto from three retailers — Hidden Leaf Cannabis, Minerva Cannabis and Shivaa’s Rose.

“We are partnering with industry leaders like Leafly to help retailers offer safe, convenient options for people in Toronto to purchase legal cannabis for delivery to their homes, which will help combat the illegal market and help reduce impaired driving,” said Lola Kassim, general manager of Uber Eats Canada, reported GlobalNewsCa.

Uber isn’t completely new to the cannabis business. Uber Eats users have been able to order cannabis products for pickup from Tokyo Smoke stores since November 2021, but the partnership did not allow for deliveries. 

Uber Eats App

Naturally, customers need to be 19 years or older to order via the UberEats app where they can select the “cannabis” category, or search for one of the participating cannabis retailers. When the delivery arrives, the customer’s age will be once again verified along with their sobriety.

Leafly Is All In

“Leafly has been empowering the cannabis marketplace in Canada for more than four years and we support more than 200 cannabis retailers in the GTA. We are thrilled to work with Uber Eats to help licensed retailers bring safe, legal cannabis to people across the city,” said Yoko Miyashita, CEO of Leafly.

Weed deliveries became a thing in 2020 during the pandemic when Ontario temporarily allowed cannabis shops - closed to the public - to deliver orders to customers’ homes. That policy was made permanent in March, albeit with stipulations from the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO), which oversees the province’s cannabis regulations.

Same App, Different Delivery Service

As such, the Uber Eats delivery people bringing food to one’s home will not be the same ones making the weed drops. Cannabis shops will need to hire and train their own staff to deliver orders placed through Uber’s software, per the AGCO.