How much does cannabis cost in Canada?

Legal cannabis in Canada is cheaper than most people think, and the gap between legal and illegal prices has nearly closed.

The average price for legal dried flower is around $5 to $6 a gram (recent figures put it near $5.75). That’s a long way from the early days of legalization, when legal cannabis carried a real premium. The price gap between legal and illegal sources has shrunk from about $3.59 a gram in 2019 to roughly $1.49, so the old assumption that legal always costs far more no longer holds.

An average hides a wide range, though. What you actually pay comes down to three things.

Quality

Like coffee or wine, cannabis runs from budget to premium. Value or sale flower can be around $4 a gram, mainstream product sits near the average, and craft or high-potency flower can reach $10 to $15 a gram or more. Higher THC and small-batch growing cost more to produce, and that shows up on the shelf.

Quantity

Buying more at once lowers the price per gram. A single gram is the most expensive way to buy. A quarter (7 grams), half (14 grams), or ounce (28 grams) usually drops the per-gram price, sometimes well below the single-gram rate. If you know you’ll use it and can store it properly, buying larger saves money. The how much to buy tool can help you estimate what you need.

Product type

Dried flower is the baseline. Other formats are priced differently:

• Pre-rolls are sold by the joint or in packs, and cost a little more than rolling your own.
• Edibles are capped at 10 mg of THC per package, so you’re often paying per package rather than per dose.
• Vape cartridges and concentrates cost more per gram of product, but they’re far more potent, so a little goes further.

Exact prices vary by province, retailer, and brand. The most reliable way to check is your provincial store’s online menu, which lists live prices. See where to buy for your province’s official retailer.

The takeaway

For everyday dried flower, budget around $5 to $6 a gram, less if you buy in quantity or choose value brands, more for craft or high-THC product. And if you’ve been avoiding legal stores because you assume they’re pricey, the numbers have changed. Legal cannabis is now priced close to what the illegal market charges, with the added benefit that it’s tested and labelled.

This is general information, and prices change, so check your provincial retailer for current figures.

Sources: Statistics Canada, Cannabis consumer prices · StratCann, cannabis pricing analysis