Although the price of many consumer goods has been increasing over the past year, the price of cannabis in Canada appears to be continuing to decline.
New figures from Statistics Canada show the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for cannabis declined by over two points from March 2022 to March 2023. However, the CPI for medical cannabis increased by more than 10 points.
The annual CPI is reported with a base year index value of 100 and is used to measure inflation by comparing the change in price over time for a basket of consumer goods and services.
In March 2022, the CPI for recreational cannabis in Canada was 75.8. In March 2023 it was 74, a decline of 2.4 percent. For medical cannabis, the CPI in March 2022 was 73.1, in March 2023 it was 81, an increase of 10.8 percent.
The CPI for cannabis in Canada has been declining since legalization, from 100 when first reported in February 2019 to 89.2 in March 2020, 82.7 in March 2021, and 75.8 in March 2022.
The CPI for medical cannabis declined from 99.5 in March 2019, 91.5 in March 2020, 87.4 in March 2021, to 73.1 in March 2022, before increasing for the first time in March 2023 to 81.
