BC legal cannabis sales over six times higher than last year

New data is showing that regulated cannabis sales in BC are up compared to this time last year — way up.

In data released by Statistics Canada, $29,393,000 was spent in the province on cannabis in June 2020. While certainly more than a few dime bags, when measured to the total from the same month the year before, it’s a significant gain.

In June 2019, beautiful British Columbia sold $4,230,000, according to the data. When compared against each other, this is a 6.94 times increase.

When ranked against other provinces, BC came in fourth, after Ontario ($48,852,000), Alberta ($46,707,000), and Quebec ($39,992,000).

What also may have helped keep Cannabis sales afloat was the declaration during the pandemic of cannabis retail as an essential service.

“Essential services are those daily services essential to preserving life, health, public safety and basic societal functioning,” the province said in a release. “They are the services British Columbians rely on in their daily lives.”

Overall, June 2020 saw $201,061,000 of regulated cannabis sold across Canada.

These figures, of course, do not account for the unregulated or legacy cannabis industry. In 2019, StatsCan reports that 66.6% of Canadians bought the devil’s lettuce from a legacy source as opposed to a regulated one.