Halifax,N.S.—Nova Scotians continue to buy more pot from liquor stores, as the Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation expands its cannabis network.

The NSLC says cannabis sales were up by more than 20 percent last quarter, compared to the previous year. In total, the crown corporation sold $26.6-million worth of cannabis between July 5 and October 3.

Of that, $5.5-million was pot produced in Nova Scotia.

That’s a jump in local cannabis sales of more than 31 percent compared to the same period last year. That makes local cannabis the fastest-growing product category at the NSLC.

NSLC President and CEO Greg Hughes says increasing pot sales are due in part to the falling cost of cannabis at the company’s stores.

Lasty quarter, the average price dropped by about 13 percent, to $6.50 a gram. That was due mainly to customers buying more in bulk, taking advantage of 28-gram packs from local producers.

The NSLC also started selling cannabis at two more locations, in Halifax and Lunenburg, bringing it up to 33 cannabis stores in the province.

Cannabis wasn’t the only Nova Scotia-based product the NSLC sold more of last quarter. In fact, sales of local products were up across every category.

Nova Scotia wine was the most popular, with sales jumping more than 28 percent, to $4.7 million. Local beer sales rose almost 23 percent, to $7.7-million. And homegrown spirit sales rose by nearly 20 percent, to $3.2-million.

Sales to bars and restaurants also continued to recover. Compared to the same period last year, sales to licensees went up by more than 42 percent, to $12-million.

Sales to private wine and specialty stores rose 62 percent, to $5.9-million, while sales to agency stores decreased 12.1 percent, to $18.1-million.

Across NSLC’s entire network of stores, sales rose by $11-million last quarter, coming in at $277.6 million.

However, the company’s total earnings stayed more-or-less the same, at $78.4 million. The total volume of alcohol sold also dropped slightly.