Nova Scotia saw an 8.7 percent increase in cannabis sales in its second quarter of 2023, to $31.4 million.

Retail customer transactions for cannabis also increased by 13.8 percent, while the average dollar value of each transaction decreased by 4.4 percent to $37.04. The average price per gram for cannabis also decreased by 3.5 percent to $6.03, one of the lowest average prices in Canada.

Sales were up from the previous quarter’s total of $29.1 million.

As in the previous quarter, growth in cannabis sales was led by a significant increase in sales of local cannabis products, for a total of $10.3 million in Q2. This brings the sale of locally-grown and produced cannabis products in Nova Scotia to nearly one-third of all cannabis sales.

The same time period saw alcohol sales increase by only 0.1 percent, although the total sales still significantly surpassed cannabis, at  $210.7 million.

Sales increases for cannabis are potentially related to the opening of a new retail cannabis store in Halifax by adding cannabis to an existing liquor store location on Young Street. Nova Scotia is one of the few provinces that allows the co-location of cannabis and alcohol.

“Over the past five years, we have worked hard to increase the opportunity for our customers to access cannabis safely,” explains Greg Hughes, President & CEO of the Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation (NSLC). “We started with 12 cannabis locations, and now we’re up to 49 stores across the province.”

The NSLC released their year-end annual report earlier this year, with more than $100 million worth of cannabis sold.