Canada Sees 17% Price-Per-Gram Increase Post-Legalization

Both legal and illegal cannabis prices throughout Canada are up more than 17 percent since legalization, from C$6.85 pre-legalization per gram to C$8.04 post-legalization, according to Statistics Canada figures outlined by Bloomberg.

Online legal market prices have reached as high as C$9.99 per gram since October 17, 2018 – 56.8 percent higher than the C$6.37 average per gram paid in the illicit market, according to the report. Per gram prices at brick-and-mortar retailers hit as high as C$10.73.

Customers in New Brunswick and Manitoba saw the biggest price increases of 30.5 percent and 27.7 percent respectively. British Columbia saw the lowest increases of just 3.7 percent. In the Northwest Territories, post-legalization prices were the highest at C$14.45 per gram – up 13.7 percent. Quebec had the lowest per-gram, post-legalization price of C$6.75, which represents a 15.9 percent increase.

StatsCanada uses self-reported, crowdsourced data to measure the burgeoning post-legalization cannabis economy. According to the report, the agency received 1,129 submissions from consumers via the website between October 17 and March 31 but only 936 passed the editing and screening process.

Since Canada’s federal legalization bill took effect, consumers have been limited in their legal purchases to just flower products. Regulations are under consideration, however, to allow for the manufacturing and sales of THC-infused edibles products. Edibles products are expected to reach store shelves as early as summer’s end and no later than October 17, 2019 – exactly one year after flower products were made legal.