National Post (National Edition)
WEED’S WORST TO FIRST
For a cross-Canada check on the status of cannabis in the country today, The GrowthOp crunched data on price, consumption habits, retail locations, public consumption options and the rules on growing at home. Canadians are clearly in love with cannabis, but not all provinces are in love with it. While the historic Cannabis Act applies to all provinces, the rules around distribution and consumption fall to the provinces — and municipalities have some say, too. So, which provinces are rolling out the red carpet for weed and which are still warming up to the country’s second-favourite leaf ? Dave Yasvinski provides the findings
10. MANITOBA
With public use of pot prohibited and home-growing reserved for medical cannabis users, Manitoba may not be the easiest place in the country to unwind with a joint. A recent StatsCan study suggests the province also has the highest prices for weed.
9. QUEBEC
With sales restricted to consumers 21 years of age or older and home-growing forbidden, Quebec makes consumers work for their high. The restrictions have likely made the unregulated market more appealing, with lower black-market prices than the tightly regulated SQDC. But even those lucky enough to get their hands on some quality bud may find themselves without a place to legally light up. The grass is a little greener in Montreal, which allows connoisseurs and novices alike to smoke it wherever tobacco is allowed.
8. SASKATCHEWAN
The province’s private sector approach to legalization yielded early dividends and has helped Saskatchewan meet consumer demand. It currently boasts almost 50 stores for a population of around 1.2 million. But higher-than-average prices and an inability to indulge in the great outdoors might have residents looking at other provinces with envy.
7. P.E.I.
Canada’s least populous province, by our metrics at least, didn’t even hit the halfway mark among its provincial peers. P.E.I. has only a handful of retail stores — all government controlled — but a small-enough population to make it work when combined with online offerings. The province initially closed its outlets over COVID-19, but soon reopened them after discovering, along with the rest of the country, how essential cannabis has become. You may not be able to light up in public but — as in the rest of Atlantic Canada — you’re allowed to grow it at home.
6. NOVA SCOTIA
The province may have only a dozen or so retail stores, but that hasn’t prevented Nova Scotia residents from getting hands-on with marijuana. More than 25 per cent of the population — tops in the country — tried the drug in the past three months, with many using the 80-plus areas the province has specifically set aside for cannabis consumption. With only P.E.I. residents spending more on cannabis on a per capita basis, the future looks hazy in the east.
5. ONTARIO
Canada’s most populous province stumbled out of the legalization gate, choosing a controversial lottery system to award the first two rounds of retail licences. The rollout proved anything but smooth, so regulators reversed course, lifting the cap it had placed on legal dispensaries. The province, which has been playing catch-up ever since, reached a milestone when the doors opened on its 100th retail store. It has hundreds more in the pipeline. With public consumption and home-growing allowed, residents will no doubt find some ways to pass the time while they wait.
4. NEW BRUNSWICK
After an underwhelming start, Cannabis NB, the provincially owned marijuana regulator, announced plans to take its 20 retail stores to a private operator. Early growing pains were blamed on a strong illicit market and restrictive regulations. Sales have since picked up, but the government is still losing money and hopes to unload its properties as soon as possible. With few provinces spending as much per capita on cannabis, things are bound to get better soon.
3. BRITISH COLUMBIA
The province perhaps most synonymous with weed has found itself playing catchup as it fights off a stubborn legacy market. Provincial regulators’ decision to let municipalities opt out of cannabis retail stores created vast areas without legal weed sources, leaving B.C. with the lowest per capita sales of any province. As the industry matures and more illegal operations transition to the legal economy, expect the quality and prevalence of legal B.C. bud to bounce back.
2. ALBERTA
With the highest number of legal retail stores than any province — more than 400 and counting — Alberta quickly emerged as a pot powerhouse by allowing private-sector participation in the industry. It doesn’t hurt that it’s one of the few stops on our cross-country tour that allows for public consumption and the only one that makes cannabis accessible at the age of 18. Alberta’s buzz has faded a bit recently as the province navigates regulatory hurdles.
1. NEWFOUNDLAND & LABRADOR
It seems only fitting that the most pot-friendly locale in the country would also be the site of Canada’s first legal cannabis sale (if only because its location puts it ahead of the rest of the country, timewise). The province allows home grows, boasts more stores per capita than most of the country, and more than one in five residents reported using the substance in the past three months.