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A FRACTION OF BC’S ILLICIT GROWERS ENTERING MARKET COULD MEAN BILLIONS

If even 15% of BC’s illicit growers join the legal market, it would mean $3B in legal REC sales, according to a report from Grow Tech Labs. However , Grow Tech CEO Barinder Rasode argued the cost for craft growers to go legit is too great while production caps are too low.

  • According to Grow Tech’s numbers, doubling micro-cultivation production caps would employ hundreds and generate $700M in tax revenue.
  • Lawyer Trina Fraser noted the responsibility for lifting the burden on craft producers isn’t just Health Canada’s, but also falls to the provinces to allow farm-gate sales, and to municipalities to stop passing bylaws that hobble cannabis production.

Quick Hits

  1. Health Canada reported cannabis sales increased by 16% in the month of April, with combined flower and oil sales up 10%. The biggest growth was in MED dry flower (25%) and REC oil (20%).
    CTV News, Globe and Mail
  2. A Leafly survey found roughly 6M Canadians plan to celebrate Canada Day on Monday with some cannabis. Who will be the first to retire their Molson Canadian Rocks hat for Broken Coast or Tantalus swag?
    Twitter—Jo Vos, GrowthOp, Calgary Sun
  3. Quebec’s dépanneurs (corner stores) and grocery stores are lobbying the provincial government to allow them to sell edibles and cannabis beverages. They note they’re already trusted with selling alcohol, tobacco, and lottery tickets.
    Journal de Montréal—In French