Cannabis Is Fully Legal in Canada, But Tim Hortons Blocks Access to Related Websites

• Jim Hortons has an internet filter on their Wi-Fi that prevents consumers from accessing many legal websites for cannabis companies.
• Some websites, like Aurora Cannabis and Tweed, can still be accessed.

Canada made history when the government chose to legalize cannabis use for adults nearly a year ago. However, the industry continues to face its share of challenges, and Leafly recently shed light on the reaction from the Tim Hortons coffee chain in the country. While most people may expect that the company takes a stance on the types of beans used or even the strength of the brew, the company is taking a passive-aggressive approach to cannabis.

While the chain offers free, public Wi-Fi for customers, they have employed an internet filter system that prevents these customers from accessing cannabis websites. Consumers are unable to access these websites, even if they are legal, regardless of whether the customer is using a laptop or a smartphone.

In fact, the terms and agreements of accessing the Wi-Fi states that the service is not liable for any of the content accessed through it:

“Be aware that some content, products, or services may be offensive to you or may not comply with applicable laws where you access the Services.”

What is missing from the terms is that the service can block access to some websites. While it would make sense to block websites for pornography and related NSFW content, the blocking of legal websites relating to cannabis seems unnecessary.

The researcher with Leafly stated that they investigated this blocking of websites by attempting to browse sites related to cannabis. While the websites were blocked, including the Leafly website, the service provided a notice to explain why – “Access to this page has been blocked due to inappropriate content.”

Interestingly enough, Leafly was able to access five illegal cannabis websites for mail orders. Furthermore, there were multiple legal cannabis brands that were not locked, for some reason, including Aurora Cannabis and Tweed’s website for consumers. Websites for Canopy Growth and Lift were blocked.

To learn more about this internet blocking system, Leafly reached out to the Media Relations department. Though they also included questions on whether they were willing to open the access to legal cannabis websites, no response had been sent to them by Monday.