Molson Coors' cannabis partner, Hexo, has warned that two-fifths of Canadians continue to buy the drug from the black market because of high prices in the legal cannabis sector.

Some 40% of Canadians are still buying cannabis from illegal sources

Canada legalised the recreational use of cannabis a year ago, and yesterday allowed the sale of cannabis edibles including beverages. However, a survey commissioned by Hexo showed that 40% of Canadians admit to purchasing cannabis from illegal sources, with price proving a major factor.

The warning follows a Bloomberg report this week, ahead of the legalisation of cannabis edible sales, that said the value of the Canadian cannabis market in the first seven months of this year was only CAD524m (US$399m). This is short of Deloitte estimates of as much as CAD4.34bn for full-year 2019.

Drinks producers such as Molson Coors, which this week announced it will launch six cannabis drinks in Canada through its Truss JV with Hexo, will hope the sale of cannabis edibles can kickstart the category. Anheuser-Busch InBev has also confirmed plans to start selling cannabis products in Canada before the end of the year under the Fluent Beverage brand, while Constellation Brands is expected to enter the category through its partnership with Canopy Growth.

Hexo's survey of 2,347 Canadian adults was conducted online from 8-10 Oct. The company is launching a "value" cannabis brand called Original Stash. It will retail for about CAD4.49 per gram, which Hexo called "black market prices".

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