A massive leak of data associated with government-run cannabis retail stores in Ontario, Canada put retailers in a tailspin. Consumer data, however, is not part of the equation, and wasn’t exposed during the data breach.

The Ontario Cannabis Store (OCS), a government-run agency overseeing the distribution of cannabis from licensed producers to retailers, reported that some of its sales data was “misappropriated.”

An OCS letter sent to retailers on May 10 and quickly picked up by The Canadian Press warned that confidential sales data was being circulated throughout the industry.

“This data was not disclosed by the OCS, nor have we provided any permission or consent to distribute or use this data outside of our organization,” reads the letter, signed by Janet Ihm, vice-president of wholesale partnerships and customer care at OCS. “The data was misappropriated, disclosed, and distributed unlawfully. As a result, we trust you will refrain from sharing or using this stolen data in any way.”

Over 1,200 retail stores in Ontario have been affected. Retail cannabis stores in Ontario rose to 1,333 by a recent count, up from 1,115 in September.

Three anonymous sources say that store names, license numbers, and data showing whether a store is independently owned, run by a corporation, or by a franchisee was also leaked. The matter is being investigated by the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP).

MJBizDaily confirmed with the OPP that the breach is being considered “a criminal matter.” The data was also distributed unlawfully, according to authorities.

Reportedly the data contained ranked sales info of every cannabis store in Ontario. And given that the data also showed kilograms sold during the month, kilograms sold per day,

Read more from our friends at High Times