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But Poulos said he expects supply issues outside of B.C. to subside over the next three to six months, so that constraints on supply will no longer factor into price.

“There’s a lot of people in the industry who think that the wholesale price is heading lower, and that’s in order to wipe out the black market over the next several years,” he said.

“Right now the (licensed producers) can demand a higher price, but when there’s lots more out there … the conventional wisdom is we’re heading down to $2 per gram at wholesale. That’ll pull a lot of people in.”

Deepak Anand, vice-president of business development and government relations at Cannabis Compliance Inc., said the B.C. Cannabis Stores’ warehouse appears to be well-stocked, but provinces where stock is low — particularly Alberta, Ontario and Quebec — are contacting his clients about supply agreements.

“We’re seeing some of our clients that are licensed producers now get contacted by provinces that historically would not have dealt with them or said no to them, (and) are now going back and saying, if you’ve got stock, let’s talk pricing,” he said.

Anand said he’s not surprised B.C.’s initial sales are significantly lower than other provinces. For example, Quebec, with 8.4 million residents, reported 140,000 sales in the first week, while Nova Scotia, with a population just below one million, reported 12,810 sales on Oct. 17 alone.

“I think people (in B.C.) are still sticking to the black market because, quite frankly, ease of access seems to be the norm,” he said. “Nothing significant happened on Oct. 17 in B.C., while you’re seeing lines in Quebec, Alberta, Manitoba and, obviously, Ontario.”