Having a sale is a normal thing that stores do if they've got inventory to shift and bills to pay, but a BC weed store has fallen foul with the government for slashing prices.<\/p>\n
Cost Cannabis in Revelstoke has been fined $1,000 for advertising that everything in the store was 50% off.<\/p>\n
According to an Oct. 23 BC Liquor and Cannabis Regulation Branch decision, the weed store had ads that all products and accessories were half price in April.<\/p>\n
The decision said the Liquor and Cannabis Branch began an investigation after it received a complaint.<\/p>\n
A Cannabis Branch inspector entered the store and asked about four different cannabis products, which the staff member confirmed were all on sale.<\/p>\n
The Liquor and Cannabis then requested records from the store which confirmed it was selling the products for less than the wholesale price it paid for them.<\/p>\n
"(The store) ought to have known that offering a promotion for everything in the store at 50% off the original price would be a cause for concern," the Cannabis Branch said in the decision.<\/p>\n
In BC cannabis stores are not allowed to sell cannabis for less than it paid to the government for the cannabis.<\/p>\n
READ MORE: <\/strong>Killer who strangled his pregnant Kamloops girlfriend granted day parole<\/a><\/p>\n "Control of cannabis prices is directed at the public safety issues of preventing over-service, over-consumption, and loss of control by the consuming public," the decision read. "In general, the price of cannabis must not be so low that it is likely to lead to over-consumption or resale for profit."<\/p>\n The decision also said a reason for price control is to prevent "destructive competition and its spillover effects."<\/p>\n In its defence of the 50% off sale, the store argued having a minimum price for cannabis does nothing to prevent over-consumption.<\/p>\n "The (store) says the historical illegal market in cannabis sales continues to be significant. These 'grey sale' cannabis products can and are being sold cheaper than the government-supplied cannabis products, and this disparity is pushing the industry to remain underground," the decision read. "The underground market is much more likely to be a source of over-service and over-consumption than sales by (licenced stores) for less than the minimum pricing."<\/p>\n Cost Cannabis went on to say this is concerning as non-licenced products may be tainted and are not as safe as government-supplied products.<\/p>\n READ MORE: <\/strong>'Very suspicious': But no proof South Okanagan man tried to kill relative<\/a><\/p>\n A recent poll found that only half of Canadians<\/a> who have bought cannabis since legalization in 2018 have done so in a government-licenced store.<\/p>\n The Cannabis Branch requested a full sales inventory going back months and analyzed whether the store had sold products below wholesale pricing.<\/p>\n While the Cannabis Branch concluded the store had sold products below wholesale value, how much cannabis and for how much money, isn't given in the decision.<\/p>\n "However, the failure to comply with the minimum pricing requirements for the sale of cannabis products is a serious matter due to the potential harms to both the purchasers and the community from over-service and\/or over-consumption and the potential for negative impacts on the competitiveness of the regulated market," the Cannabis Branch said.<\/p>\n Ultimately, the store was fined $1,000, the minimum for such an infraction.<\/p>\n To contact a reporter for this story, <\/span>email Ben Bulmer<\/a> or call (250) 309-5230 or <\/span>email the editor<\/a>. You can also submit <\/span>photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom<\/a> and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.<\/span><\/p>\n
\n