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PUBLISHED DECEMBER 11, 2020 11.15 AM PST
UPDATED DECEMBER 12, 2020
CannabizzzJane
Vancouver Island - The legal marijuana industry has spent years battling the illicit black market, matching prices, bud quality, availability. But- since the covid-19 pandemic, the legal market has been thriving in Canada. British Columbians have never bought so much legal weed.
According to the Times Colonist, the provinces legal cannabis retailers sold $29,393,000 worth of recreational marijuana products in June – almost seven times the $4,230,000 in revenue that they generated in June 2019, Statistics Canada revealed August 21, a jump from where it was the years prior.
Why is the pandemic causing such a surge in cannabis sales? The stress? The availability? The unknown? Let us dive in.
In March 2020, when the lockdown began, legal cannabis retailers saw a 50% drop in sales due to closures and reduced hours. Until the Canadian Covid relief benefits started pooling in, adult recreational cannabis use has gone up drastically since March. Consumers are still visiting their local pot-shops, buying in larger quantities, and returning less often, for reasons we're all aware.
While some of us were stocking up on copious amounts of toilet paper, others started growing their cannabis or at least tried to learn.
Working in a dispensary at the beginning of the pandemic in March, I witnessed more and more people coming in looking to grow their cannabis, even with little to no experience. Auto-flowering cannabis plants are guaranteed to be female and not male. The company Weedme was the only fem seeds we had available and seemed relatively expensive for what you were getting.
But- customers continued looking, asking, purchasing these seeds to grow at home as they have nothing else to do.
Following this most recent restriction update from Dr. Bonnie Henry, the cannabis sector has seen another jump just in these last weeks, and according to CapitalCurrent.ca "When provincial restrictions and physical distancing measures were imposed to contain COVID-19, “stocking-up” behavior became noticeable among cannabis consumers. Even with cannabis stores open – including 25 in Ottawa – since the spring lockdown sales still remain high: From June to August, for instance, they reached $115.5 million. In September, the last month for which data are available, sales reached $77.9 million."
This seems to be true for the month of December too.
The legal cannabis sector has also stepped ahead of even regular retail outlets such as clothes and or food. The covid-19 plans across the province of B.C at least have gone beyond most would expect from, stoners.
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