Cannabis Sales in Ontario Double with Store Openings

Yukon Remains the Highest in Per Capita Cannabis Sales – LPC

Statistics Canada revealed that cannabis sales in Ontario more than doubled in April 2019 with the opening of bricks-and-mortar stores. In previous months, legal cannabis sales through the Ontario Cannabis Store (OCS) ranged between $7 million and $8 million per month. That jumped to $19.6 million in April after cannabis retail stores opened in small pockets in Ontario.

Reasons for the jump ranged from wanting to see the product to fear of crossing the US border.

Deepak Anand, CEO of the cannabis supply and distribution company Materia Ventures, said it’s about the experience. “People want to be able to understand, from people they can trust, how this is going to taste and feel.”

Michael Armstrong, a business professor at Brock University, said privacy during cannabis sales was a concern. “You have to share your ID in a store,” he said. “But one you’ve done that, there’s no record of you having been there. You could pay in cash and walk out the door with your plain paper bag.”

The Global News report (see link below) said that most Canadians fear that legal cannabis sales showing up on credit card statements could affect travelling to the United States.

Slow Roll-Out in Ontario May Continue to Hamper Sales – LPC

The previous Liberal government planned to open government-run retail outlets, much like the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO). The new Conservative government scrapped that idea in favour of private stores, announcing an initial run of 25 cannabis retail licences in December 2018. It also announced in February 2019 that all staff and managers would be required to take the CannSell certification program online.

However, only 10 stores opened on April 1, 2019. By April 30, that number grew to 18 – there were seven cannabis retail stores penalized for failing to open by that date.

The April numbers suggest that cannabis sales would grow in Ontario with the opening of more stores. But they are still behind the largest per capita cannabis sales: Atlantic Canada, Saskatchewan, and Yukon. Ontario cannabis sales would have to jump six-fold to $120 million to match Yukon’s per capita sales.

This editorial content from the LPC News Editor is meant to provide analysis, insight, and perspective on current news articles. To read the source article this commentary is based upon, please click on the link below.

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