We’ve had a handful of readers ask us, “Why does marijuana cost more in Canada?” The question is not without merit. Weed costs about 30% more in Canada than in the U.S. Additionally, reports indicate that legal marijuana is nearly 50% more expensive than its legal counterpart. So, why does marijuana cost more in Canada?
When you legally buy any type of cannabis product, testing verifies the quality and track the product back to the producer. Before you purchase, you need to know how much CBD and THC content your purchased product has and its terpene profile as well. This will give you enough information to make a decision on the right product you should choose.
In Canada, the production guidelines are very strict and Health Canada maintains these regulations and restrictions. For that reasons, cannabis prices cannot go overboard, but now, they are higher in comparison to other countries. Why? Some of the cannabis prices are higher because of the cost of maintaining these regulations for high quality products. These products have to go through lab testing. The competition is fierce as companies grapple to ensure that they have the best quality products at the best prices. Let’s take a look at what licensed producers have to be dealing with.
The Enforcement
Health Canada strictly enforces and monitors regulations by sending regulators to production facilities to examine storage and growing conditions. Producers are typically unaware of when inspections will occur.
In many cases, reglaors collect samp products as well as carrier oils and soil fertilizers. This is to make sure that producers are being compliant as it relates to the regulated growing practices. Quarterly results of the findings are usually published after the inspection is done. The fact that there is no regulation for the illegal market, the growing practices are not known and so when someone buys weed legally, they become aware of the growing conditions because they should meet the federal standards set by Health Canada. And for this reason, the cannabis prices will tend to be higher than that of the illegal weed market.
Meticulous Testing
In Canada, the cannabis prices are higher because the standards dictate that weed has to go through meticulous testing. Any producer that wants to sell their products on OCS.ca must go through lab testing. Testing screens for harmful contaminants like Salmonella, Yeast, Lead, Arsenic, Mercury and E. Coli as well as for ninety seven pesticides that haven’t been approved. Producers must have a Certificate of Analysis for all products that will go on the market, as wel as a Statement of Attestation, because it outlines the lot number and sample test results of the product. The high cannabis prices, for that reason are inevitable as certification is essential to maintaining high quality products.
The Contents
When certification and other guidelines are followed, results are made public and labeling will indicate clearly the kinds of content that are found in each product; especially the THC and CBD content. The label will also show other important ingredients that should be in the product. When you buy from the illegal market, you won’t have access to all this information and so this is one reason that cannabis prices are higher on the legal marijuana market.
Final Summary
The products also have to be child proof and pet proof and so this is one of the significant reasons why cannabis prices tend to be so high in Canada. Children and pets have to be protected and so to maintain health safety, Health Canada has set specific guidelines in place and this will make cannabis prices much higher than it is on the illegal market.
