Nova Scotians are the highest consumers of cannabis in the country, while PEI is holding its own when it comes to sales

With some exceptions, Canada’s east coast has been putting in a decent performance when it comes to cannabis sales.

Prince Edward Island is probably the biggest success story. While the province sold the least amount from October 2018 to June 2019 at $10.7 million, the next province was British Columbia with $19.5 million and a far larger population. Nova Scotia raked in $47.9 million and New Brunswick brought in $25.9 million. From last October to the present, Newfoundland and Labrador has sold over $21 million.

Newfoundland’s sales are complicated by the Newfoundland and Labrador Liquor Corporation’s eight percent commission on independent cannabis businesses, causing many of them to struggle.

Cannabis NB, New Brunswick’s public store, has performed well below expectations since legalization. Off a projected $45 million in revenues for the first fiscal year, the Crown corporation sold $18.6 million.

In the first quarter of the current fiscal year, from April 1 to June 30, Cannabis NB lost $2.2 million and posted average weekly sales of $700,000. Its original business plan predicted weekly sales of $1.9 million.

Detractors blame the poor performance on layoffs—60 jobs lost over 20 stores in January—as well as higher prices. Last October, Statistics Canada reported that the average street price of a gram in Atlantic Canada was $7, but many strains run well north of that.

DNA Genetics’ Lemon Skunk is priced at $13.13 per gram at Cannabis NB, but in PEI it is $40.86 for 3.5 gram, and in Newfoundland and Labrador the strain can be anywhere from $9.85 to $12.17 per gram.

PEI Cannabis reported $3.8 million in sales during the same quarter, which is double that of New Brunswick on a per-person basis.

The Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation reported first quarter cannabis sales of $16.1 million, up from $15.8 million in the previous quarter ending on Mar. 31. Those sales came from 449,707 transactions, with an average value of $35.73.

In August, Statistics Canada released its second quarter National Cannabis Survey, which looks at the cannabis use of Canadians 15 years or older who have consumed in the past three months. The national percentage was 16. Nova Scotia was higher at 24 percent, while PEI, New Brunswick and Newfoundland were about the same.

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