Want Weed? Ottawa Cannabis Shops Don’t All Charge the Same Prices

Article by Stephen Hoff, CBC News

Looking to buy some cannabis? One of Ottawa’s retail shops is charging a little more than the others.

There are three licensed retailers in Ottawa: Superette on Wellington Street West, the Hobo Recreational Cannabis Store on Bank Street, and Fire & Flower on York Street.

Superette and Hobo both include HST in their listed prices for customers, but Fire & Flower adds the 13 per cent tax onto its listed prices.

This means the price of a two-pack of pre-rolled joints — which lists on the provincially run online Ontario Cannabis Store (OCS) for $16.85 plus $5 for shipping — costs $16.95 at Hobo but $19.04 at Fire & Flower. It’s a difference of $2.09.

While the government does set a price floor for cannabis products, it does not set a price ceiling or dictate whether retailers should include HST in the list price or add it at the register.

Rob Cherry, vice-president of merchandise for Fire & Flower, said most retailers don’t include taxes in their list price.

“Our strategy and pricing in general was to take OCS’s pricing and add the tax,” Cherry said.

Read the full article here.