Nova Scotia brought in $31.2 million in cannabis sales in the three months ended June 30, 2024, a 7.3% increase compared to the previous year and an increase of $1 million from the previous quarter.
The Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation, which handles cannabis distribution and sales in the province, also added a new cannabis store in the most recent quarter, the fiftieth in the province in May in Shelburne. Sales of locally-produced cannabis declined slightly, by 1.4%, to $9.3 million, or a little under one third of all cannabis sales.
While the provincial agency reported a volume decline in beverage alcohol, the volume of cannabis sold increased in its first quarter of 2024.
“Expanding access to safe and legal cannabis continues to be a primary focus for us, and we continue to look for ways to combat the illicit cannabis market,” said Greg Hughes, president and CEO of NSLC. “We were pleased to add another cannabis store to our retail network this quarter.”
The average basket size for a cannabis purchase in the Bluenose province was $37, with retail customer transactions for cannabis increasing by 7.7% in the quarter. The average price per gram for cannabis decreased again in the province as well, by 2% to $5.90.
As a comparison, total spirit sales in the province in the same time period were $48.4 million; wine sales were $39 million, beer was $75.4 million, and ready-to-drink alcoholic beverages were $28.5 million.
The NSLC says all profits go back to the provincial government to help fund “key public services.”
Nova Scotia sold $121 million worth of cannabis in 2023, an 8.9% increase from the previous year. Sales of local Nova Scotia cannabis products accounted for $39.5 million, or 32.7% of all cannabis sales in 2023, a 17.9% increase from the previous year.
In the NSLC’s 2023 annual report released earlier this year, they said that 79% of Nova Scotians lived within 10 kilometres of a licensed cannabis store.