The Ontario government has revealed new details about how the online sale of cannabis will work through the Ontario Cannabis Store when the substance becomes legal next week.

Here is a rundown of some of the key details.

Buying

The government continues to reiterate that while cannabis will become legal on Oct. 17, the online Ontario Cannabis Store will be the only place where people can legally purchase cannabis products.

The website will make use of Shopify’s ecommerce system, which means that any data collected will remain on Canadian servers. An app is not currently in the works, but the government says that the site design will be responsive so that it displays and works properly on mobile devices as well as on desktop machines.

The government says the website is designed to prioritize education about cannabis over sales. To that end, the educational portion of the website is already live. It includes information about the effects of cannabis “ranging from pleasant to very unpleasant” as well as methods of consumption and risks associated with consumption.

There will be a four-step age verification process that will include Canada Post workers checking the ID of anyone who looks like they might be under 25 years of age.  Customers will have to enter their date of birth and confirm that they are 19 or over when ordering, but they will not have to provide ID at the online checkout.

People will be able to purchase up to 30 grams per order, however there are no restrictions on placing multiple orders to the same address.

Delivery

All of the products will be stored at a warehouse in the GTA. Delivery will take between one and three days and there will be a flat fee of $5 anywhere in the province.

There are no restrictions on the type of address to which cannabis products can be delivered.

Anyone 19 years of age or older will be able to sign for a delivery of cannabis. However postal workers will not leave packages unattended or with a concierge. If you’re not home when a delivery arrives, you’ll be able to pick it up at a nearby postal office.  

What can you buy?

In terms of what products will be on offer, more than 70 strains of cannabis will be available when the store launches on Oct. 17, with an aim to eventually carrying 150. Customers will be able to search by brand, strain, by the amounts of THC and CBD, and by terpene profiles.

People will be able to purchase dried flower, oils and capsules and pre-rolled joints from 32 different suppliers, including 23 which are located in Ontario. Devices for consuming cannabis products, such as bongs, pipes and grinders,  will also be available.

The government won’t say yet how much the products will cost, however they say that pricing will be competitive with the illegal market.

Packaging will be child-proof, bilingual and will carry a warning label.

Edibles will not be available for purchase as the federal government is still establishing a regulatory framework for those products.