Sask. cannabis sales lag behind rest of the country

Saskatchewan lagged behind the rest of the country in the early days of legal cannabis sales,according to new data released by Statistics Canada.

Some $341,000 of cannabis was sold in Saskatchewan from Oct. 17 when recreational cannabis became legal in Canada to Oct. 31, the data says.

That total pales in comparison to the next closest province, Prince Edward Island, which saw roughly $1,328,000in cannabis sales during the same period.

Sales totals for Manitoba, Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut were not available.

According to Statistics Canada spokesperson Kyle Virgin, there are several reasons why there are discrepancies from province-to-province.

"In October, the availability of cannabis across each of the [provinces] was impacted by differences in the retail structure," Virgin said.

"Some provinces did have more stores that were open or were available on the first day of legalization and we expect that to continue to evolve."

He noted Statistics Canada measured the numbers at point of sale, and other programs within the department may measure other components of the broader cannabis industry.

Virgin said those numbers will be made available "as time goes on."

Wiid Boutique manager optimistic

Daniel Uhersky, owner and manager of Wiid Boutique in Regina, said business has been fantastic in the shop's first month of operations.

Wiiddidn't open for more than a month after legalization. Uhersky said his shop had a slow opening, but used social media to spread the word. He estimated business has tripled in the following weeks.

He said if the supply lines were there, Saskatchewan wouldn't be in last place in terms of cannabis retail dollars.

"Currently, there aren't any Saskatchewan growers up and running," Uhersky said. "As soon as there will be, we'll definitely have as much as we can in our store."

He said it's up to Health Canada to finish testing growers' products before those operations are able to supply local pot shops with cannabis.

Uhersky said he recently received some good news from a supplierwho told him they would soon be able to sell their test crops as long as they pass all of the needed testing.

Looking forward, Uhersky said he expected to see Saskatchewan's retail dollars start competing with other western Canadian provinces.

"Saskatchewan, we're in the unique situation where as a retailer, I get to buy from any grower I wish," Uhersky said.

"Every other province has to buy through their liquor board store, so we're in the unique situation where we can hunt for the product we want to carry in the store."

- With files from Olivier Daoust