The cost of weed: What’s the cannabis tab country-wide?

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Canadians have had access to legal recreational cannabis for more than four months and, at this point, prices across the country vary somewhat from province to province.  So how much does a gram of weed cost across Canada?

“Each province and territory in Canada controls distribution, with many of them being the sole distributor of cannabis, similar to alcohol,” explains Lisa Campbell, CEO of Lifford Cannabis Solutions, a cannabis brand agency. “As such, each supplier negotiates rates, which are subject to the federal excise tax, as well as different provincial taxes.”

Deloitte notes in a recent report that Canadians are expected to spend about $4.34 billion on legal recreational cannabis in 2019. So how much cannabis does that buy?

Thinking that would be of interest to consumers and the canna-curious, The GrowthOp wanted to get an idea of the average price per gram of dried flower across Canada. The research indicates some fluctuations from province to province. As for the most and least expensive, B.C. and Nova Scotia fill those spots, respectively.

In most cases, buying in bulk (typically packages of 3.5 or 7g) brought the cost of individual grams down, but this article focuses on single-gram sales. Please also note that inventories are subject to change.

PEI

PEI Cannabis has a single gram of Edison’s Rio Bravo listed for $8.70, which is the least expensive single gram of cannabis available in the province’s online store, while the most expensive is a Haven St. Blueberry Kush at $10.95

Nova Scotia

Nova Scotians have 12 different retail outlets throughout the province operated by the Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation. It has created Value ($6.33 to $8.49 per gram), Core ($9.00 to $10.98) and Premium ($10.99 and more) pricing categories for cannabis.

Newfoundland and Labrador

On the Newfoundland and Labrador online cannabis store, a single gram of The Lover from Eve & Co. can be purchased for $6.89. The high end of the pricing spectrum is $12.17 for a single gram of several of the cultivars from LBS and DNA Genetics.

New Brunswick

Consumers in New Brunswick can buy a single gram of Good Supply from Jean Guy for $8.50 or purchase a single gram of Broken Coast’s Ruxton for $15.99.

Ontario

On the Ontario Cannabis Store website, the least expensive of all 74 products listed in the dried cannabis category is $9.50, while the most expensive single gram of cannabis is listed for $10.50.

Quebec

On Quebec’s cannabis retail website, consumers can purchase one gram of Jean Guy (from the same LP that cultivated the Jean Guy available in the N.B. store) for $6.90 or splurge on Helios Flower for $20.00 per gram.

Saskatchewan

At Kiaro, a retailer in Saskatoon that has locations planned for Alberta and B. C. in the spring of 2019, Andrew Gordon, senior vice president of strategic alliances and community engagement, says that, currently, the average per gram price is approximately $13. The company is actively working with all existing and prospective supply partners to bring costs down “to help improve access opportunities and affordability for our community of consumers,” Gordon notes.

“In Saskatchewan, where private retailers have the opportunity to be their own wholesaler, we do expect to be able to offer a lower price point to customers—given that the provincial sales tax, an excise duty that will be charged at the producer level, is 6.45 percent against the wholesale price,” he adds.

Manitoba

At the Tokyo Smoke stores in Manitoba, single grams of Solei Balance can be had for as little as $9, but also expect to pay $16 per gram for Serious Kush from Royal High.

At Tweed Main Street in Brandon, Man., a store manager who preferred not to provide his name, explained that pricing typically starts at $9 per gram for the house brand (Tweed), but could go as high as $16.50. “It really depends on the brand, and that doesn’t include taxes.”

Alberta

Pricing on the Alberta Cannabis website starts at $9.55 per gram of Solei Gather and top out at $13.99 per single gram of AltaVie Campfire or Sensi Star.

British Columbia

“In B.C., the BC Liquor Distribution Branch is the distributor and applies a 15 percent mark-up on the landed cost of cannabis distributed throughout the province to retailers. The landed cost is the total price of a product once it has arrived at the retailer, and includes the original price in addition to shipping, duties, taxes, packaging and handling costs,” Gordon reports.

The retail prices at bccannabisstores.com start at $6.99 per single gram and get as high as $17.99 per gram.

NWT

In the Northwest Territories, the selection of cannabis strains is much smaller and the prices a little bit higher. Single grams of Alien Dawg by Canaca start at $13.13, while a gram purchase of Grail Headband can run $14.60.

Yukon

On the Cannabis Yukon website, most offerings are for 3.5 grams or more, but shoppers can get one gram of Zombie Kush from Aurora for as little as $10.18 or splash out and spend $55.83 for 3.5 g of Pink Kush from Canna Farms.

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