Justin Trudeau says marijuana should be legalized

[TheIronMaiden]

This article is a little more recent, but makes the same point about store deficiencies.

Chris Damas, editor of Ontario-based BCMI Cannabis Report, estimates that Ontario would need an additional 1,400 points of sale to reach the one-per-10,000-people mark observed in Colorado and Alberta.
Ontario, which has pledged to ramp up new store authorizations this year, started accepting open-market applications on Jan. 6.

As of April 29, Ontario authorized almost five dozen stores.

Quebec is not faring much better than its neighbor.

Damas estimates that Quebec’s cannabis point of sale deficiency at 95% – meaning it is roughly 800 stores shy.

Alberta’s 449 points of sale exceed what the province needs, Damas said.

More than 180 stores have opened in British Columbia, making it 65% deficient in points of sale. B.C. needs 507 points of sale to bring its store count to one per 10,000 people.

Saskatchewan, which recently started accepting cannabis store applications for small communities, could use about 70 more points of sale.

https://mjbizdaily.com/ontario-leads...her-estimates/

[Fuzz]

• Alberta, 16.8%
• Nunavut, 19.3%
• Ontario, 3.9%
• Saskatchewan, 6.45%

https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-age...-cannabis.html

All the taxes don't help at all. Some provincial governments, like, say, Alberta, saw this as a cash cow, and gave up any legitimate argument of doing it to get rid of the black market. Add in the $1/g the feds take, which could be as high as 20% plus GST/PST and it's not a big surprise when 40% of the price is taxes. Terry can do it cheaper, no way!

The most disgusting part of the taxes is that medical users also pay them. Could you imagine getting your Lipitor prescription and the feds taking 15%, the province taking 16.8%, plus paying GST and PST on it? I think there would be outrage. If something is approved for medical use, their shouldn't be taxes on it.

[afc wimbledon]

my weed smoking friends all say Government weed is pretty much rubbish because it takes so long to get to point of sale and so is too dried out, most still buy 'private' as it is substantially better quality

[Zevo]

Ya I was one of those thinking Terry would be used a lot less. To be fair though I thought the government would be smart enough in BC to use the existing stores that had opened up and would license some of the existing experienced growers. Should have known better.

We had so many stores do their due diligence in opening up nice store fronts, apply for licenses, apply for a GST #(and pay GST) only to be shut down. Now people I know still go thru one of them that now operate illegally online. Order on line and they deliver...sometimes within half an hour of placing the order.

[CliffFletcher]

Is it really surprising? Heavy users already had access to black market pot. And the legal retailers have costs the the black market doesn't share - rent, regulation, licensing, taxes. So the legal sellers were never going to beat the black market on price.

The people I hang out with buy legally. Because we're middle-aged, casual users who aren't bothered by paying a little more. But it turns out a hefty proportion of pot is sold to heavy users - people who buy in volume and are much more sensitive to price differentials. If they can readily get stronger pot at 60 or 70 per cent the price of legal stuff, why change?

[Raekwon]

I mean you can't destroy the market with the prices they are charging. I can go to a legit store and pay $10/g or I can get it from a website that delivers same day within 4 hours for $75/oz

[Torture]

Originally Posted by Raekwon

I mean you can't destroy the market with the prices they are charging. I can go to a legit store and pay $10/g or I can get it from a website that delivers same day within 4 hours for $75/oz

For the casual user though? I couldn't be bothered.

[DFO]

Originally Posted by Raekwon

I mean you can't destroy the market with the prices they are charging. I can go to a legit store and pay $10/g or I can get it from a website that delivers same day within 4 hours for $75/oz

Who is getting/selling good weed for $75/oz?

[CliffFletcher]

Originally Posted by Raekwon

I mean you can't destroy the market with the prices they are charging.

But what if their business isn't viable at black market prices?

[burn_this_city]

I’d argue quality is the biggest issue. It’s simply bunk weed for top dollar and people figured that out quickly. I feel bad for the retailers, they are stuck carrying a small selection of marginal products. Most will go bankrupt before things improve enough to undercut the black market.

[Raekwon]

Originally Posted by DFO

Who is getting/selling good weed for $75/oz?

There is an app called Weedmaps I think its called, its a buyers market out there. I'm not sure what would classify something as "good" but maybe its good.

[DFO]

Originally Posted by Raekwon

There is an app called Weedmaps I think its called, its a buyers market out there. I'm not sure what would classify something as "good" but maybe its good.

I'd say not. You'd have to be buying many pounds to get that kind of price.

[Raekwon]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

But what if their business isn't viable at black market prices?

It isn't viable because of packaging alone. They need to find ways to lower costs but they will never remove the black market but these numbers suggest they barely made a dent.

[Raekwon]

Originally Posted by DFO

I'd say not. You'd have to be buying many pounds to get that kind of price.

I'm telling you that is the price and its easy to find $75-$130 oz minimum is 1 oz i'm not guessing here.

[GreenLantern2814]

There’s a Co Op Cannabis a block away from my building. They’re open until 10, and they’re never out of stock.

It’s pretty sweet.

True story, back when I first got a medical card, the doctor asked why I needed it.

I said “I don’t like drug dealers. I was told if I come to you, it arrives in the mail.”

She wrote down “Trouble sleeping/anxiety” and sent me on my way.

[FlamesAddiction]

Originally Posted by Raekwon

It isn't viable because of packaging alone. They need to find ways to lower costs but they will never remove the black market but these numbers suggest they barely made a dent.

I think it is more about law enforcement than being price competitive. I don't think the police have even kept up enforcing laws against the illegal market, let alone increase their efforts.

The people who thought this would impact the illegal market thought that more people would buy the legal stuff to avoid getting caught. At the moment, there doesn't seem to be any real deterrence though.

[Cecil Terwilliger]

Originally Posted by DFO

I'd say not. You'd have to be buying many pounds to get that kind of price.

$75 is pretty low but pretty much every MOM offers some crazy good deals on bud.

But flower isn’t the issue, at all. The legal market is already catching up on prices. You can easily find ounces for less than $200 and as cheap as $100 at virtually any cannabis retailer.

The issue is concentrates. I can buy twice as much oil/distillate/rosin/resin that is equal quality to the legal stuff but half the price.

The real problem is the government and producers only went after the casual user and that’s why 90% of product is in way too small amounts for high prices.

The real stoners would legit go bankrupt if they bought the most common stuff legally. $60 for an eighth, $90 for .5g of rosin. It’s hilarious. That and the true stoners are annoying. They’d buy black or grey market even if it was the same price, worse quality and as inconvenient as ever. There’s a strong vibe in the stoner community that MOMs grow superior weed than legal and that they’re sticking it to the man by staying Grey market.

[Yamer]

"Terry" is a term I learned on this forum for the first time, after being a heavy user between 2002-2009.

Those stats surprise me, considering I would pay 50% markup to never having to deal with "Terry" and his endless conspiracy theories, made-up stories about Led Zeppelin, and his countless Snopes debunked BS just to buy an ounce of whatever growth he could pull from random piles of dirt. What took me an hour of swallowing ####, fake smiling, and politely waiting now takes minutes (with choices) and a completely legal delivery from an uninterested employee of Canada Post or Purolator.

Everything about legalization is so much better than what I would have had to/currently deal with.

[Scroopy Noopers]

Get it in some giant mason jars and let me bring in refillable containers. You go into these shops and it’s like you’re ordering plutonium.

[GGG]

Originally Posted by Raekwon

There is an app called Weedmaps I think its called, its a buyers market out there. I'm not sure what would classify something as "good" but maybe its good.

Has price gone down since legalization occurred? I notice you say buyers market.

This would suggest that legal supply is working at reducing demand for the black market product forcing price reductions.

Can you compare the grey market price vs black market price by region?

This was always a 5-10 year plan.