Northwest Territories Drop Cannabis Prices Hoping to Curb Unregulated Sales

The government of Canada’s Northwest Territories has reduced the price of all cannabis products by 10 percent hoping the price drop will help legal sellers compete with the unregulated market. The Northwest Territories Liquor and Cannabis Commission said it “has a better understanding of the operating costs associated with the distribution and sale of cannabis” two year after cannabis was legalized federally, and the agency is “confident” it can reduce cannabis prices “while continuing to maintain a safe and secure retail regime.”

Caroline Wawzonek, the Northwest Territories Minister of Finance, said the change “is one of many steps that need to be taken to accomplish” the goal of eliminating illegal sales in the province.

“The Government of the Northwest Territories is committed to eliminating the illegal sale of cannabis by providing residents with legal access to safe and secure products. … We will continue to assess the operations of the Northwest Territories Liquor and Cannabis Commission to find more ways to curb the illegal sale of cannabis in the Northwest Territories in a socially responsible manner.” – Wawzonek in a statement

Currently, legal cannabis is only available at five liquor stores in the NWT and through the cannabis commission’s online sales platform.

A Statistics Canada report from April 2019 found that the NWT had the highest legal and illegal cannabis prices in the nation post-legalization at $14.45 per gram – an increase of 13.7 percent from pre-legalization prices but lower than the national average increase per gram of 17 percent.

The price adjustment in the NWT took effect on July 2.