The average combined price for nonmedical and medical cannabis has fallen 10.6% since the first quarter of 2016, according to new data from Statistics Canada.

The latest data from StatsCan pegs the average combined cost of nonmedical and medical cannabis at 6.74 Canadian dollars ($5.19) per gram in the second quarter.

Canada-based marijuana companies are spending hundreds of millions of dollars to build up the industry’s cultivation capacity to meet expected exceptional demand when recreational sales kick off in October.

As of June, Canada’s government had licensed more than 1 million square meters (11 million square feet) for cannabis cultivation, according to data Health Canada shared with Marijuana Business Daily.

That’s up significantly from May 2017, when the total was only 609,000 square meters (2 million square feet).

Other takeaways from StatsCan’s Cannabis Economic Account include:

Expenditures on medical cannabis reached CA$784 million on an annualized basis.

Canadians spent CA$5.7 billion on cannabis products on an annualized basis (85% purchased illegally).

Marijuana consumption has risen 72% since the first quarter of 2001.

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