Canada’s Yukon territory has highest per capita pot sales in country, study says

Yukoners led Canadians in buying the most legal pot per capita from retail stores in the first year of legalization, according to a study released by Statistics Canada.

The report on retail pot sales in Canada — online or in person — shows that between October 2018 and September 2019, Yukoners spent an average of $103 per person, generating $4.2 million in total sales.

Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia followed Yukon in per capita sales at $97 and $68 respectively, while Ontario led overall sales at $217 million.

Per capita sales in the Northwest Territories were $61 and overall sales were $2.7 million. The study did not include statistics for Nunavut, because it does not have a physical retail store.

The study also did not include statistics about the sales of medical marijuana.

The report says regional differences between total and per capita sales may be explained in part by access to cannabis stores and the staggered entry of retail businesses to the market.

As of July 2019, 45 per cent of Canadians lived within 10 km of a cannabis store compared to 31 per cent in the Yukon, and 62 per cent in the N.W.T.

Across the country, there are more than 400 brick-and-mortar cannabis stores and Canadians spent about $908 million at those stores or online, according to the report.

Yukon has three private stores in operation, with another scheduled to open in Carmacks on Dec. 16. The Yukon government closed its pot store in October, to make way for private business.

In the N.W.T., pot is sold at five locations in different communities.

In Nunavut, cannabis is sold online through the Nunavut Liquor and Cannabis Commission’s approved companies.

Related stories from around the North:

Canada: Online cannabis sales won’t ‘dent’ illegal market, says minister in Northern Canadian territory, CBC News

United States: Alaska Congressman seeks legal path for cannabidiol, Alaska Public Media