Cannabis clicks
Northern communities among biggest buyers per capita for online product
Prior to cannabis becoming legalized for sale across Canada, the Newfoundland Labrador Liquor Corp. (NLC) had retail licences in place so more than 85 per cent of the province's population would be within a 50-kilometre drive from a store selling greed bud.
For the remaining 15 per cent of the population, the plan was to reach buyers via direct-to-consumer online sales at the Cannabis NL website — shopcannabisnl.com.
Through an access to information request, The Telegram obtained sales figures grouped by communities with a 2016 census population of 1,500 or more for the first year of legalization (Oct. 17, 2018-Oct. 16, 2019).
Because licensed retailers procure goods directly through authorized licensed producers, the NLC does not track comparable information for the retail market. According to Statistics Canada, retail sales in Newfoundland and Labrador for the first year of legalization (October 2018 to September 2019) were $30.6 million, resulting in sales per capita of $59.
The latter figure leaves Newfoundland and Labrador ranking fifth among all provinces and territories (sales per capita for all of Canada was $24). As of July, Newfoundland and Labrador had the fourth most licensed retail stores in Canada.
Breaking down online sales on a per capita basis, data shows consumers from a number of communities lacking easy access to a licensed retail store are choosing to go online. The highest-ranking town at a per capita level is St. Anthony, at $6.24 per resident. For comparison, the average per capita figure for the 51 towns The Telegram received data on was $1.32. St. Anthony is more than 400 kilometres away from the nearest licensed retail outlet on the island, in Deer Lake.
But the big buyers in Newfoundland and Labrador were not always towns located far away from stores. Of the top-15 ranked by sales per capita, nine of the towns were less than 35 kilometres from the nearest store selling cannabis, and four of those communities — Gander, Grand Falls-windsor, Happy Valley-goose Bay and Labrador City — had retail shops open for business.
The latter two communities are also noteworthy for being among four northern towns accounting for almost half of the top-10 ranked by sales per capita. As mentioned earlier, St. Anthony tops the list. Happy Valley-goose Bay ranked second ($4.80), Labrador City was fifth ($2.39) and its neighbour Wabush
was tied for eighth ($2.21).
Trevor Tobin co-owns High North, the only licensed cannabis retail store in Labrador City, with his mother, Brenda Tobin. He suggests the high ranking for Labrador City and Wabush may be due in part to the shortages in supply his business has dealt with.
“Even so far as a few weeks ago, we actually went dry again — completely sold out for a couple of days,” he told The Telegram over the phone from his store. “I hear people say, ‘Well, I’ve tried online as well.’ I guess they were looking for an alternative route to coming into our shop, if it’s empty, to try and order online and see if they can receive it quicker.”
The combined total of online sales for Labrador City and Wabush was just over $21,450.
Paul (not his real name) has lived and worked in Labrador City for more than 25 years and spent time visiting other parts of Labrador. He backs up what Trevor says, noting that people looking to buy cannabis locally have turned to online sales due to supply issues at the store. Furthermore, he said people in Labrador City have always been used to ordering away for things.
“This was a catalogue town,” he said. “This is a high-income town in the middle of nowhere that’s supported by Canada Post. Back in the ’90s … everybody told me to get a Jcpenney catalogue.”
Brenda Tobin reckons there are likely people in Labrador City and Wabush who would rather not be seen by others walking into their store. Employment in the two communities is largely based around the local iron ore mine.
“Everybody knows everybody,” Trevor added. “If some people are ordering online, it’s because they’re in a position where they don’t want their employer to see them.”
According to Paul, black market cannabis was extremely expensive in some parts of Labrador prior to legalization. The street price for one gram of cannabis in Nain three years ago was $100, he said. Specific to Happy Valley-goose Bay (which, as mentioned previously, does have a licensed retailer), he suspects people there are collecting orders to pass along to friends and relatives in other Labrador communities.
“Happy Valley is the hub,” he said. “Everyone has got someone in Happy Valley, and I’ve no doubt that’s where it’s all remailed from, because poor old buddy home, he’s not getting on the internet and he’s not going to do it. He wants a bit, and that’s where it’s coming from.”
About a 30-minute drive from Happy Valley-goose Bay is North West River, a community of approximately 550 residents. Paul said it’s a beautiful place and residents there are more inclined to consume cannabis than alcohol.
“You go from garage to garage to garage in North West River on any Friday or Saturday night, and it’s seven or eight (using) pot to one drinker,” he said. “It’s a thing there, and there’s a peace in that town. It’s like a place full of hippies.”
Trevor and Brenda Tobin could not really come up with an answer for why people specifically in Labrador embrace cannabis, other than to suggest people enjoy the product. Most customers they have are repeat ones. Even though Churchill Falls is more than 240 kilometres away from Labrador City, Trevor Tobin said his store does routinely take calls from people in that community asking if product is available.
“They’ll say, ‘Do you have product in your shop?’ And we say, ‘Yes,’ and they’ll say, ‘OK, we’re leaving now,’ and people will drive that two-and-a-half hours for cannabis.”
In the not-too-distant future, business owners like the Tobins will be able to benefit from online sales. On Dec. 4, the province announced a number of pending changes, one of which will allow standalone tier-one licensed retailers to also sell cannabis products online. How this will proceed is still being worked out. The government has said this will require changes to current regulations.
“Whether that’s going to be a good thing or not, we’ve got to wait to see,” Trevor Tobin said, noting there are many unanswered questions. “Taking on online ordering, we don’t know what’s involved in that yet.”