Where does the money you spend on legal weed go?
That’s the question a group of British Columbia cannabis growers wants cannabis consumers to ask as part of an effort to have the Provincial government reduce a tax they say is hampering the ability for small producers to be profitable.
The BC Cannabis Alliance says the 15 per cent “proprietary fee” imposed on direct-to-retailer sales adds to the challenges faced by small-scale B.C. growers and processors. While the program was introduced to support B.C.’s craft growers, because the fee is paid to the BC Liquor Distribution Branch, many small businesses are unable to benefit from the program as intended, they say.
“The addition of this 15-per-cent markup to be paid to the government, despite them not ever handling the product at any point in the supply chain, is an example of the government saying one thing ‘to support small farms’ and doing the opposite,” says Alannah Davis, CEO of Dabble Farms in Vancouver Island’s Cowichan Valley. “The B.C. government got this right with craft breweries and it’s time to make it right with cannabis too.”
Arguing that the fee directly impedes small producers’ ability to deliver quality cannabis to consumers at a fair price, further reducing already limited margins, the Alliance is asking the Province to reduce the proprietary fee and is asking consumers to support the bid by signing a Change.org petition.
While consumers might see retail prices and think the industry is doing well, they much of the money goes to the government through taxes and to distribution markups, the Alliance says.
The campaign aims to inform retailers, consumers and the general public about where each dollar spent on cannabis goes. According to the Alliance, for every $10 spent on cannabis in the legal market, only around $1 or $2 makes it to the grower, and often months after having sold it.
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