Ever wonder just how much of your hard-earned dollars make it back to the grower when you pick up some weed at the store?

A group of BC-based cannabis businesses recently launched a campaign to draw attention to just how little cannabis growers receive for their cannabis amidst a complex supply chain. 

While the general public may think the cannabis industry is awash in cash, the reality is much more dire, especially for small, craft growers who are not propped up by investor dollars. 

The BC Cannabis Alliance—comprising around two dozen cannabis cultivators and processors in BC—says they are seeking to draw attention to how issues like provincial and federal taxes and fees impact growers, especially BC’s small craft cannabis growers.

As part of the campaign, the Alliance is sharing information with retailers and consumers on where the money consumers pay for cannabis actually ends up. Using a series of infographics that feature popular dried flower SKUs in the BC market, the organization breaks down how various levels of government receive a little over half of every dollar spent. In contrast, cannabis producers receive less than 20%. 

Using one example produced by the Alliance, a popular 28-gram package of cannabis sold in BC for about $82:

• nearly $9 goes to sales tax
• another $28 goes to the excise tax (75% of which goes to BC)
• The BC LDB receives another six dollars as the distributor

This leaves about $15 for the producer out of the $82 the consumer spends, with that $15 often further divided between processor and grower. 

Various cards highlighting different popular flower SKUs in BC will be shared with retailers in the coming weeks. 

In addition, the Alliance is highlighting an additional fee charged by the BC government to use their Direct Delivery program, which allows some small BC growers to ship directly to retailers. This program was touted as a way to help small, craft growers and producers in BC, but the BC LDB has kept the 15% “proprietary fee” they charge to warehouse and distribute cannabis attached to these direct sales. This is despite the provincial cannabis distributor not actually handling or processing these direct sales in any way. 

“The addition of this 15% markup to be paid to the government, despite them not ever handling the product at any point in the supply chain, is an example of the government saying one thing ‘to support small farms’ and doing the opposite,” says Alannah Davis, CEO of Dabble Farms, who is a part of the Alliance. 

The organization has also created a petition to draw attention to this BC-specific issue, which calls for the BC LDB to drop its “Proprietary Fee” for Direct Delivery from 15% to 3.5% to help improve economic viability for all BC’s craft producers.

“BC is now home to some of Canada’s favourite cannabis brands, but excessive taxation means our best growers, processors, and retailers are struggling to get by,” says the organization’s website. “Between taxes, fees, and mark-ups, the government often takes the most while contributing the least. For BC’s most popular products, that take can be more than half.

“We’re here to rally support for simple changes while helping policymakers create a more sustainable cannabis industry.”

More information can be found at BCCannabisAlliance.com.

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