The Flower Pot is a florist shop in Montreal Quebec that had one of the odder experiences during Canada’s first few weeks of cannabis legalization.
First purchased by Pia Teichmann and her husband in 1976, the florist shop has been a mainstay in its neighbourhood for decades, but it wasn’t until October 2018 where the shop received some of its strangest inquiries from customers looking to buy cannabis.
Unfortunately, these customers were looking for different type of flowerto the one’s Pia sells in her store. Yet, dozens of customers continued to arrive and call the store in the hopes of buying legal weed for the first time, despite the fact the only place to do so is through Quebec’s government-run stores.
As someone that has never used cannabis, Pia was understandably confused by the sudden surge in inquiries. It took a few days for some of her co-workers to understand why so many people were looking for weed in her store and it came down to online search engines.
The reason for all the confusion is search engines mistaking the name of the shop ‘the Flower Pot’ as a possible retailer of recreational cannabis. So, anyone in Montrealsearching online for ‘pot shop’ may have been directed to Pia’s store rather than a licensed retailer and never have thought twice given the name and its cannabis connotations.
This led to many disappointed customers arriving in store to purchase cannabis plants and products, only to find the flowers on sale there were a completely different type from what they wanted.
Thankfully, most where completely understanding of the situation, with one even saying he’d like to come back to buy flowers soon.
Pia admits some people still come in and ask where the nearest recreational store is, although she’s still unsure of where that is. She also admitted it’s probably more profitable selling cannabis than her own type of flowers, not that she intends to change career paths any time soon!
