‘We were extremely busy at our stores’

Nearly 600 transactions put New Minas NSLC among top stores for sales

A lot of people bought a lot of pot Oct. 17 in New Minas.

NSLC spokesperson Beverley Ware recently confirmed that 494 transactions were conducted at the location by 5 p.m., putting the New Minas sales on par with such stores as Yarmouth and Portland Street in Dartmouth.

By the end of the day, transactions at the location totaled nearly 600. And with lineups out the door at nearly all stores across the province, Ware said this came as no surprise.

The province saw more than $660,000 in overall sales, of which nearly $47,000 was sold online.

“We were extremely busy at our stores across the province, as expected,” she said in an e-mail.

“There were line ups at all our stores well before we opened with about 200 customers lined up at our store in New Minas.”

Cannabis is available for purchase in three categories — value, core and premium — and ranges in cost per gram from $6.33 to $10.99 and above. The NSLC website states all prices are determined by each brand and package size, and include tax.

The larger the package, the lower the price per gram of cannabis. Prices may be adjusted based on market conditions.

Ware also noted that Nova Scotia stores are currently operating with just 40 per cent of their intended amount of stock. They had aimed to offer 300 products representing 78 different strains, but this low number means they now have only 97 products representing 52 strains of cannabis.

Ware said this problem is being experienced across the country, and not just in Nova Scotia. The NSLC stated in a release its current supply is expected to last three weeks.

“We’ve just added a supplier from PEI, and are continuously seeking opportunities to add new licensed producers to our inventory,” said Ware.

“And when it arrives, the inventory will be processed immediately to be sold in stores.”