BC = Bring Some Fucking Cash
BC = Bring some fucking Cash
So, B.C. has a problem. It starts with people who moved here from other provinces. B.C. doesn’t stand for British Columbia anymore; it stands for Bring Cash. And you should bring a lot of it.
The evidence is evident regarding a particular category in the cannabis industry VAPES. Regarding 510 vape cartridges and PAX pods, to the government, they fall in the same category as nicotine vaporizers, so they get nicotine vapes 20% tax raise that took place in January of this year (2023). I worked in a vape store around this time, and many people questioned why the government would do this. It’s not healthier than quitting altogether, but a better alternative to smoking cigarettes. The store I was working at had to throw out so many products because our final day to sell products was December.31st, and any product without the new excise stamp would cause the business to get a heavy fine. Despite the massive sales, we had to throw out many shelves of juice and pods, so the vape industry's environmental impact was horrendous that day. A juice bottle went from around 10 dollars to approximately 20 with taxes. (I don’t remember the prices exactly, but that’s the jist of the costs)
I bring up the nicotine vape side to provide much context to this issue because it’s hard to fully explain the cannabis side of vapes in BC without mentioning the nicotine side of vapes.
To our health authority, smoking or vaping in any form is dangerous to your health; thus, those things need to be taxed out of the ass so we don’t consume them.
If you go to the OCS right now, a vape cartridge is around $29.95, taxes included (Glacial Gold Anytime 1:1 Fresh Mint 1g as an example). On the BC Cannabis side, I put the Glacial Gold Anytime 1:1 Berry Lemonade 1g (priced at $29.95 before taxes) in the cart and checked out where it is now $34.01.
The fact that the same vape cart in BC has a $4 difference is wild, and that’s for a cheaper product. Suppose we do the same with a more expensive cartridge like BOXHOT. On the OCS, the Peach OG is $49.95, taxes included. You look to the BC Cannabis Store, and it is $39.99 before taxes and $50.39.
It is ridiculous that we get taxed heavily for one of the healthier cannabis consumption methods just because it’s a vape.
So, remember, if you're coming to BC, bring some cash and maybe stop in another province if you’re a person that consumes vape carts.