The price of pot has jumped since recreational use was legalized — and that, along with patchy supply issues, has kept many customers relying on unlicensed suppliers.

A new Statistics Canada study found that the cost of cannabis has risen more than 17 per cent since legalization last October. Since then, only half of the purchases recorded in the study were from legal suppliers — suggesting the other half came from unlicensed dispensaries or dealers.

The two findings are linked, believes Matei Olaru, CEO of the cannabis-focused technology and media company Lift & Co.

A strain on cash and operations is not a bad thing

CEO Nick Kovacevich has acknowledged that with the sudden growth in sales has added to the company's supply struggles. "While we are confident in the Company's upward trajectory, we acknowledge the impact that our dramatic growth has had on our gross margins, in particular, the utilization of air freight and additional cost incurring quality-control measures at our receiving warehouse to meet demand," he said.

With large markets opening in California and Canada, the company's operations are a bit strained and at the end of November 2018, the company had just $3 million in cash and equivalents on its books, down from the $13.5 million it had in August. But having these kinds of problems isn't necessarily a bad thing.

The price of pot has risen more than 17 per cent since it became legal for recreational use, according to Statistics Canada.

With more folks lighting up, and thorny supply issues in some provinces, the price has jumped to $8.02 per gram from $6.83.

Using an updated version of its crowdsourcing app, Statistics Canada collected price information prior to legalization Oct. 17, and compared it to the average price between that day and the end of 2018.

Of the 385 price quotes it used from that period, half of those purchases were from legal suppliers. 

Legal pot costs more. The average price for dried cannabis from a legal supplier was $9.70 per gram, compared to $6.51 from illegal suppliers.

2018 was a pivotal year for pot, with both the legalization and legitimization of the drug gathering steam.

Beginning with Australia giving the green light to cannabis exports, and ending with the New Zealand government announcing it will hold a referendum on recreational pot legalization in the next general election come 2020, 2018 saw an increasing mainstream acceptance of weed.

Canada’s pot shortage could last as long as three years, according to industry executives who say production estimates are too rosy.

Shortages have plagued the country since recreational marijuana was legalized in October. In response, Quebec’s government-controlled stores have closed three days a week, Alberta has temporarily stopped issuing retail licenses and Ontario has said it will initially open just 25 stores across Canada’s most populous province.

As of mid-December, about 50 per cent of products for sale in five provinces were out of stock, according to Cowen & Co. analyst Vivien Azer.

This situation could continue for as long as three years, said Chuck Rifici, chief executive officer of Toronto-based Auxly Cannabis Group Inc.

It’s been nearly three months since cannabis became legal for recreational use in Canada, and now the federal government is preparing to allow more products onto the market — in particular, edibles like baked goods, candy, and chocolate.

PopCom, a leading Black-owned automated retail technology company specializing in smart vending and kiosk solutions, has announced its plans to develop a new blockchain-powered product ecosystem that enables cannabis, pharmaceutical and alcohol retailers to automate the sale of government-regulated products. The company is inviting forward-thinking investors to join them in bringing transformative technology to retail via their Security Token Offering (STO)–a public fundraising round that allows to anyone invest in the future of retail. The minimum investment is $252 and the team is looking to raise $945,000 in a 90 day period.

It's the first day cannabis retailers can throw their names in a lottery for one of 25 licences to open a pot shop in the province, but the pull-from-the-hat approach could leave Ottawa without a single storefront.

Cannabis has been legal since Oct. 17, but so far, Ontario consumers have only been able to buy the product online.

Only 25 licences will be issued by Apr. 1 to the first wave of private retailers, with a lottery system determining the winners.

According to a local public affairs consultant, that's not the best way to combat black market cannabis sales — especially if Ottawa ends up without any legal outlets.

Last year, Transport Canada revealed that airplane travelers will be allowed to fly with cannabis in their cargo.

This, of course, included a few stipulations. Among them: carry-on rules still apply for liquids, Canadians must be traveling to a domestic destination, and they couldn’t exceed 30 grams of cannabis on their person, which is the legal amount for personal use in Canada anyways.

But now, WestJet is giving Twitter recommendations to its Canadian passengers on how to fly with weed. WestJet is the second-largest Canadian airline carrier with service also extending to the United States, Europe, Central America, and beyond. Still, it’s rather odd to witness a major airline instructing passengers how to pack their stash properly.

Vancouver's first legal pot shops are open for business, more than two months after marijuana was legalized in Canada.

City Cannabis Co.'s Fraser Street location and Evergreen Cannabis Society in Kitsilano have opened their doors.

Both companies had to jump through extensive regulatory hoops, even as illegal retailers continue to operate across in the city.

British Columbia has lagged behind other provinces in issuing non-medical cannabis retail licences, which must first be approved by the province, then referred to local governments or Indigenous communities for approval.