Faced with profit margins that have visibly melted since legalization, black market cannabis producers, particularly Quebecers, are increasingly turning to the United States to sell their merchandise, says an investigator from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP). The good old pot remains a safe bargaining chip for organized crime, which uses it as currency to buy and import hard drugs from abroad.
“Here in Quebec, we are seen as a nursery. [Le marché noir] produces very good quality cannabis that is of great value. Quebec producers are still attractive, ”said Corporal Danny Paradis, Cannabis Strategy coordinator within the federal police force, during an interview with Press.
Without being able to explain exactly why, the investigator says the quantities of cannabis seized at the border by the United States Customs and Border Protection increased by 2,500% between October 2017 and November 2021.
The overall increase in consumption during the pandemic in the United States, combined with the drop in prices in Canada caused by legalization, could explain the sudden attraction of Canadian producers to this territory.
While the price of a pound of cannabis on the Canadian black market is around $ 1,300, it reaches almost $ 4,000 in the United States.
PHOTO ALAIN ROBERGE, THE PRESS
Corporal Danny Paradis, Royal Canadian Mounted Police Cannabis Strategy Coordinator
Cannabis is a local product, easy to manufacture, which remains very popular and which generates a lot of profits. It’s a bit like the cash cow of the organization which, among other things, helps fund clandestine laboratories.
Corporal Danny Paradis, Royal Canadian Mounted Police Cannabis Strategy Coordinator
“It is also a bargaining chip. Organized crime exports it to import hard drugs like cocaine or heroin, or to barter for guns. It leaves no traces. And if they lose it, it’s not direct financial loss, the loss is less drastic. It’s still a safe way [de transiger] “, He maintains.
A source of Press active in the black market affirms that a “historic glut” effectively lowers prices, to the point where several producers are stuck with large stocks that they cannot sell. But this person questions Corporal Paradis’ assertions that the US market is not particularly attractive and that exports south of the border are “trickle”.
However, cannabis is still very regularly seized during police operations targeting criminal groups. “In all searches, there is cannabis,” said the RCMP investigator.
The SQDC, real competition?
Corporal Paradis says he is “skeptical” about the data from the Société québécoise du cannabis (SQDC), which claims in its most recent annual report to have captured 53% of the illicit market. The state-owned company bases this claim on the assumption that Quebecers consume 175 tonnes of cannabis overall, while it sold the equivalent of 91.5 tonnes in 2021 in its branches and on its website. “We don’t really have a valid basis. I would be skeptical, at this point, that they were looking so much [de parts du marché noir], in so little time. I’m going to keep a little embarrassment, ”says Mr. Paradis, while acknowledging that the SQDC has done a remarkable job in a very short time to compete with organized crime.
In the most recent quarter, SQDC customers paid an average of $ 6.32 for 1 gram of cannabis, while the price hovers around $ 6 to $ 7 per gram on the Montreal black market, according to the RCMP.
Among young people, statistics suggest that there is some decline in the use of dried cannabis in joint form, but that vaping products and sugary edibles, like muffins and jujubes, are on the rise.
The police are also seeing more concentrated forms, called wax Where shatter.
In most cases, these products are sold illegally over the internet and delivered by standard post. “It requires fairly difficult investigations,” says Paradis. The destinations are multiplied to infinity, the orders can pass through several countries. These are projects that require a lot of resources and investigation time, ”he emphasizes.