British Columbia Nets Nearly 22,000 Cannabis Sales in Week One

British Columbia, Canada, is one of the international hotbeds for cannabis, with a long history of being a pioneer for progressive cannabis policies. Last Year’s International Cannabis Business Conference in Vancouver, B.C., has rivaled Berlin as the biggest ICBC event since the conferences started just over four years ago. On one hand, it’s not a huge surprise that sales have been brisk since regulated cannabis commerce began on October 17th across Canada, but with only one physical store open in the province, nearly 22,000 sales is pretty impressive, with online transactions making up a bulk orders as Kamloops This Week reported:

With only one brick-and-mortar store open in B.C. — in Kamloops — online sales continue to reign supreme, with 17,723 transactions from Oct. 17 through Oct. 23.

That compares to 4,013 transactions at the lone government store in the Columbia Place Shopping Centre in Sahali.

Kamloops became home to the first legal pot shop in the province due to the city’s readiness, complete with zoning and licensing regulations already in place by city staff and support from mayor and council.

While the B.C. Liquor Distribution Branch, the government agency in charge of regulated cannabis commerce, won’t release the exact sales amount, deeming those numbers “competitive information” according to the Vancouver Sun, it isn’t hard to figure out that the first week was a good week. The elephant in the room is how the BCLDB and local police will ultimately handle the number of unregulated stores that remain open in Vancouver and across the province. Hopefully, regulators will allow those that have helped pave the way for legalization to compete in the regulated market.

The ICBC was proud to help secure funding for a small micro licensee by hosting Canopy Rivers’ Pitch Day at last year’s ICBC Vancouver. It is best for the cannabis industry and consumers that small farmers and mom-and-pops have a profitable place in the new regulatory regime.

Learn the latest about the cannabis industry and network with top investors and entrepreneurs from around the world at the next International Cannabis Business Conference in San Francisco, California, on February 7-8, 2019. Be sure to secure your early-bird tickets by January 18th to save!