Pollen wasn’t the only thing in the air in Smithers this summer.
Newly-released provincial data shows the Town purchased the third most amount of cannabis (per capita) from the Province’s online cannabis store since it opened last October.
That data was calculated by dividing the total population of various communities (using 2016 census data) with the total number of transactions on the Province’s cannabis store between October and May.
READ MORE: Town of Smithers supports pot shop
It shows that for every 2.35 Smithereens, there was one purchase of cannabis from the Province’s online store.
That works out to just under 2,300 transactions for the Town (compare this to Squamish, who had the lowest amount of purchases per capita at just one for every 110 residents).
But while Smithers nearly topped the list for B.C., the data shows that the Province ranked second-lowest for overall cannabis sales in the country, with British Columbians only purchasing $19.5 million in recreational cannabis since last October.
Only Prince Edward Island — with $10.7 million in revenue — was lower.
READ MORE: Province approves proposed Smithers dispensary in principle
The data will likely come as welcome news to a recently-approved (in principle — meaning it still must pass an inspection from the Province before it gets the green light to open) dispensary, Rural Leaf, which is hoping to be open by the Fall Equinox (September 23).
The Town has already thrown its support behind the proposed business, voting unanimously at their May 28 meeting to recommend to the Liquor and Cannabis Regulation Branch that Rural Leaf’s request be approved.
A report released in January found that Canada spent $1.6 billion on legal cannabis in 2018.
Canadians spent approximately $5.7 billion on cannabis in 2017, according to Statistics Canada.
Cannabis was legalized by the Liberal government on Oct. 17, 2018.
trevor.hewitt@interior-news.com
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