Recreational Cannabis has now been legal in Canada for two years.
How have things changed?
Have things improved in the Cannabis industry? Are the prices still obscure? Why should I even purchase legal cannabis? Let’s get into the nitty-gritty details of legal cannabis in Canada.
Cannabis is one of the most widely used substances in Canada, with over half of Canadians reporting they’ve used cannabis at one point or another in their lives.
As of October 2018, Canada became the second country to legalize recreational cannabis use. Two decades prior in 2001 Medical cannabis was legalized in Canada.
The Cannabis Act was introduced in 2018 with three main goals in mind;
Protecting public health and safety by allowing adults access to legal cannabis.
Keeping cannabis out of the hands of Canadian youth.
Keeping profits out of the pockets of criminals.
How much Cannabis is consumed by Canadians?
As of July 2020, 9,628,026 units of packaged cannabis were sold in Canada for medical and non-medical cannabis use.
Dried cannabis made up 72% of these sales. We enjoy our dried cannabis products! Cannabis extracts made up 14% of sales and cannabis edibles made up the other 14% of sales.*
The legal market has expanded to include a variety of cannabis products such as beverages in the form of tea, carbonated beverages, dissolvable powders, beverages similar to various alcoholic beverages as well. There are various edibles such as; chocolates, gummies, mints, and more
A few new beverages are, Mollo 2.5 & Mollo 5.0, https://www.trussbeverages.com/mollo
These are extremely similar to beer but are 100% cannabis beverages. I’m rather fond of them as I enjoy the taste of beer but don’t consume alcohol often.
To learn more about beverages, Click here.
Prices, Is Legal Recreational Cannabis affordable?
Yes, Since the legalization in 2018 cannabis prices have substantially dropped and became more affordable.
The average cannabis prices in Canada for 2018 were as follows according to Global News;
Updated information available from Statistics Canada offers us a better understanding of how prices are now. https://surveys-enquetes.statcan.gc.ca/cannabis/
The government of Canada has come out with a Crowd Sourcing data collector to gather information on how much cannabis costs across Canada! As more people enter their information for what they pay across Canada for cannabis, they’ll be able to get a better picture and understanding of what cannabis consumers want!
The national average recreational cannabis price was $8.41 in 2018. Compared to now the national average price is $6.95. A $1.46 price difference may not seem like a lot, but when you’re buying larger quantities of cannabis that $1.46 difference is a help.
From my personal experiences, I buy the vast majority of my dried cannabis from the medical cannabis market and the recreational market. I rarely purchase from the grey cannabis market (non-legal sources) due to the fact they’re not affordable for my budget and needs. Many grey market suppliers don’t offer high CBD strains and that’s a must-have for me.
Medical cannabis patients also are offered better prices for the most part when it comes to medical cannabis. Medical Cannabis by Shoppers is incredible and they offer a plethora of cannabis products to their patients.
Learn about medical cannabis here.https://www.higherlivingjess.ca/post/medicalcannabisincanada
Affordable Legal recreational Cannabis products.
I’m basing this segment off New Brunswick cannabis prices. Our recreational Cannabis is sold through Cannabis New Brunswick. Owned and operated by the provincial government here in New Brunswick. I usually only buy a max of 14 grams of cannabis at a time. I don’t typically go back to strains over and over, I prefer to mix it up.
I’ve been extremely partial to VanDer Pop CloudBurst lately.
It’s affordable and a great strain for my personal needs and accessible easily on the recreational market. It is $44.99 in New Brunswick taxes included for 7 grams. That’s $6.43 a gram, which is reasonably priced considering I was paying $8.57 a gram/ $60 for 7 grams in the grey market.
Another affordable option for those people who like purchasing by the ounce is OS. 130.
Original Stash takes pride in being quality cannabis for a reasonable price. This Sativa strain is only 4.64$ a gram, making it 129.99$ an ounce.
“Single strain strong THC potency potential Sativa flower. Original Stash products are naturally sun grown in hybrid greenhouses, free of chemical pesticides. Competitively priced to crush the black market. Quality weed. Legit price.” https://originalstash.com/#product
I encourage you to explore your legal options. I know not everyone agreed with legalization and there is much reform needed but the more we voice our thoughts, the more the government listens. The consumers complained about prices and prices have dropped substantially for how our economy is. These are things to consider the next time you’re pondering where to grab some cannabis.