Jon Liedtke
Sept 22, 2025
Stratcann
Once vibrant hubs of Canada’s burgeoning cannabis scene, grow stores are now facing a sobering reality. From clandestine operations serving a passionate underground to the optimistic dawn of legalization, these specialty retailers have weathered seismic shifts, but have they been left behind in the post-legalization era?
The cannabis industry in Canada has undergone seismic shifts since the pre-legalization medical era, to the commercialization of the medical regime, through the euphoric highs of 2018 and legalization, to the complex landscape of today.
For cannabis grow stores — specialty retailers providing equipment, nutrients, and expertise for cannabis cultivation — the journey has been a rollercoaster of adaptation, optimism, and, for many, disillusionment. Strap in as we explore the evolution of these businesses, their challenges, and whether they’ve been left behind in the post-legalization era.
Operating pre-legalization: Life in the shadows
Before the Cannabis Act came into effect back on October 17, 2018, grow stores operated in a legal grey zone, serving a clandestine community of home growers and medical cannabis patients. The environment was fraught with risk but fueled by passion.
“Back then, they were booming, right?” said Danielle Koch, who works in Horticulture Sales at Horticulture by Commercial Lighting, adding that people would go to grow stores to get their lights and nutrients and even feedback. “They learned how to grow from the OGs. A lot of these guys were in the industry long before they even opened the store, which is what gave them the background.”
Koch went on to add that the grow stores acted as “the hub” for those looking to grow cannabis. “They’d go there for their products and supplies and their advice, and yeah, they were huge.”
Nico Haché, a Commercial Horticulturist, Cannabis Grower and Operational Consultant with Haché Kloet Consulting, similarly explained that pre-legalization medical and illicit grows were “quite busy”.
For the former owner of Toronto’s Hot Box Homegrown Hydroponics and HotBox Cafe, Abi Roach, she believes there was a lot more focus on the ACMPR (Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regime) and legal medical growers.
“There was a lot of business and people growing for themselves, growing for their neighbours, growing for their friends and family…just more volume in terms of a need for home grow. So it wasn’t really just like hobbyists in their backyards, it was more people that had licenses to grow, anywhere from 50 to 200 plants.”
The high of legalization: A boom with caveats
When legalization hit, grow stores anticipated a golden era. The promise of legal home growing (up to four plants per household) and a regulated market sparked optimism, but the reality was more complex.
“As soon as the licensing came in, of course people were presented with business numbers and opportunities to purchase things from a different angle, so they started to go direct,” said Koch. “So the big licensed producers basically took over and they would just go directly to the nutrient manufacturers, light manufacturers, and the stores were just on the back burners.”
“So the huge companies growing cannabis, commercially, they…were looking for a better angle too, right? They’re not gonna go to retail stores if they can go direct and save that margin from the middleman.”
When the first commercialization of medical cannabis arrived, Haché noticed that most grow shops weren’t aware of the opportunities being presented by the government, and neither were manufacturers in a position to ship directly.
“[Manufacturers] were still only dealing with the [grow stores], and so eventually, as these [cannabis production] facilities grew in size, they overtook the capacity of the [grow stores], and they started knocking on the doors of the manufacturer directly … [and the manufacturers started] selling directly to the larger [cannabis production facilities].”
Roach’s business was established specifically for the “four-plant downtown consumer” seeking to grow in an apartment or condominium. She found that a lack of cannabis education hindered people’s ability to meaningfully grow on their own, which is why she created a “home-grow school,” complete with experts in small systems. Yet, she found that still provided less access than what people needed.
Further complicating the issue was that when seeds and clones were legalized, there was no convenient way to store and transport them through the supply chain to support a living organism that “comes in a box, needs to be watered, needs air with sunlight, and go through the system, sit in a warehouse, [be sold], and then go into a retail store. It just can’t work.”
Operating now: A sobering reality
Seven years post-legalization, the cannabis industry has matured, but grow stores are grappling with stagnation. Oversupply of retail cannabis for purchase, regulatory hurdles, and shifting consumer habits have reshaped the market.
There are “so many more” people and businesses to compete with today, said Koch, adding that if businesses want to compete and stick around, they’re going to have to “adapt, and … we’ve seen so many doors close, which is heartbreaking, but we’ve also seen some really cool things come through.”
Koch explained that grow stores that have expanded to offer other products, such as glassware, smoking supplies, pet foods, organic and all-natural holistic products, and other cannabis accessories, have been able to adapt due to diversification.
“It’s just a matter of finding out how you can continue to do what you love, but also stick with the way that the world is going … I find that people are adapting … bringing in alternate sources of income, just keep going.”
One person who works in the industry and wishes to remain anonymous explained that the internet is one of the biggest competitors for brick-and-mortar grow stores. “Like, I mean, with the internet now, especially for equipment, why would … you go to a grow shop … you’re going to pay higher price[s]….”
“In general, high taxes, regulations and competition from big online platforms are a tricky thing for most small businesses to navigate around.,” explained James Marcoux who has owned and operated Urban Greenhouse Hydroponics in Windsor Ontario since 2010. High shipping costs in Canada have definitely decreased margins over the past five years and have put further strain on the entire supply chain.”
Left behind? The grow store perspective
Many grow store owners feel sidelined in an industry they helped pioneer. While licensed producers and retail dispensaries dominate headlines, grow stores struggle for relevance.
For Koch, the issue is that grow stores were the source of “everything growing before legalization. They took all the big risks, and then as soon as it came into fruition, it just seemed like they were almost forgotten about, which is so sad.”
Haché believes that there’s still a place for grow stores, but the market isn’t as big as it was five years ago.
Roach sees the future as online e-commerce businesses. “The market has definitely shifted away from the four plants at home … I just don’t think people are converting into it.”
Finally, for Marcoux, he never expected grow stores to be included in legalization in “any capacity,” but he does believe that they should be able to sell seeds.
“It would be a boost for us, and I think that we could service that market better than what is currently being done,” he said. “It would be a win-win-win-win for grow shops, Licensed Producers, the Government, and the Grower. There are just so many good reasons and I can’t think of a single reason why we shouldn’t be able to.”
Conclusion
Grow stores have been integral to Canada’s cannabis story, from the underground and the shadows to the legal market’s infancy. Yet, as the industry evolves, many feel overlooked, caught between regulatory constraints and a market favouring scale over soul. With the right policy tweaks and a renewed focus on home growing, these businesses could reclaim their place as hubs of knowledge and community. For now, they persist, hoping the next chapter of Canada’s cannabis saga includes a page for them.
Read more of Jon Liedtke at jonliedtke.ca or email him at high@jonliedtke.ca
This article first ran on StratCann
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