Canadians are now gifting cannabis seeds to deal with a huge shortage

Canadians now have the legal right to grow a small number of cannabis plants, but in the absence of a legal supply of seeds, people are creating gifting and trading networks to help them grow.

On Wednesday, a website called Homegrown Connect — founded by Alberta medical cannabis grower Tom Neumann — went live, giving cannabis users a platform to gift and trade seeds, clones, and cannabis with each other.

“Since legalization, I bet you 40 people have emailed me for seeds,” said Neumann.

He’s addressing an issue that stems from a catch-22 in the system: under Canada’s recreational marijuana regime, anyone wanting to grow marijuana needs to do so from seeds that have been legally bought. And right now, the only legal source of seeds would come through government retailers, who get them from licensed producers.

That’s not happening in some provinces.

[“Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis] has not received any seeds from any licensed producers and understand that seeds are most likely not a priority for any licensed producers,” Chara Goodings, the spokesperson for the agency in charge of the province’s recreational cannabis sales, said in an email. “Currently, we do [not] have any seeds in stock and do not have an tentative timeframe as to when we can expect any. I would recommend contacting some licensed producers to get their perspective.”

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The Ontario Cannabis Store also told VICE News it plans to carry seeds “as they are available from our licensed producers. We currently have no timeline for when they will be delivered.”

Organigram, one of the licensed producers that has been contracted by Alberta, says it's currently not offering seeds for sale, but focusing on dried flower, pre-rolls and edible oils.

"To date, we have received very few inquiries from consumers (both in the medical and recreational communities) for access to genetic materials," the company said in a statement to VICE News.

Home growers with medical licences say they are being approached by people who are looking for seeds, after being unable to find them in stores. People have been able to grow cannabis plants for medical use with a Health Canada licence for nearly two decades.

The Cannabis Act, the recreational cannabis legislation that came into effect this summer, allows adults to share up to 30 grams of cannabis with other adults.

“Medical cannabis is meant for medical cannabis patients, but you could certainly make a coherent argument that the Cannabis Act permits you to gift seeds that come from medical cannabis,” said lawyer Harrison Jordan. “Would I advise that? In the face of uncertainty, i would not advise that.”

Jordan explains, however, that anyone could gift seeds that come from plants they’ve already grown legally and seeds from legally purchased cannabis.

Neumann, whose wife used cannabis to treat her cancer, calls the lack of seeds on the market “very disappointing, especially for people who can’t afford to pay retail prices.”

“There was no seeds available, and we checked with some lawyers, and you can share seeds and clones… as long as they derive from a legal source. So even if you have a seed from a flower that you bought legally, that would be a legal source seed.”

Anyone who wants to use Homegrown Connect will be required to pay a $20 monthly fee, but won’t have to pay for the product itself.

It also includes monthly cannabis workshops in Edmonton, discounted extraction and infusion services, as well as access to a service called “share a bud with a bud.” Anyone who donates clones would get free access to the website. “Our whole principle is to help people who really can’t afford to buy cannabis but need it for health reasons.”

Health Canada acknowledged the glitches in the seed system.

Tammy Jarbeau, a spokesperson for Health Canada, told VICE News that federally licensed producers negotiate directly with retailers authorized by provinces and territories to arrange supply.

“It is important to note that October 17 marked the end of nearly a century of criminal prohibition of cannabis and the launch of an entirely new regulated industry in Canada,” said Jarbeau. “As with any new industry and the experience of other jurisdictions that have regulated access to cannabis for adults, it was expected that it would take some time for production to match market demand for different products.”