Some SQDC stores to stay open later as Quebec imposes new rule

Société québécoise du cannabis (SQDC) reported an 18 per cent increase in second-quarter net profit to $29.4 million. A person enters an SQDC shop in Montreal on Saturday, January 15, 2022. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press)

Certain Société québécoise du cannabis (SQDC) locations will stay open later on weekends, following the passing of a new law by the Quebec government.

Some 20 stores will extend their opening hours, the SQDC said in a news release, as part of “its mission ... to protect public health.”

• READ MORE: Stores in these 3 Quebec cities will stay open late on weekends in pilot project

According to client experience vice-president Jean-François Dulac-Lemelin, almost 20 per cent of people who occasionally buy cannabis from the black market say store hours are a factor.

As of Aug. 3, select branches will be open until 10 p.m. from Thursday to Saturday and until 6 p.m. on Sundays.

The 9 p.m. closing time will still apply from Monday to Wednesday.

The locations include:

• Crescent Street (Montreal)
• Mont-Royal Metro (Montreal)
• Old Port (Montreal)
• Snowdon Metro (Montreal)
• Promenade Masson (Montreal)
• Newman Boulevard (LaSalle)
• Pointe-Claire
• Repentigny
• Longueuil-Greenfield Park
• Laval-Sainte-Dorothée
• Saint-Jérôme
• Sainte-Thérèse
• Trois-Rivières-Ouest
• Quai Saint-André (Quebec City)
• Lebourgneuf (Quebec City)
• Sainte-Foy (Quebec City)
• Sherbrooke-Fleurimont
• Granby
• Chicoutimi-Montcalm

The SQDC states that an additional Montreal location will be added in the fall.

Cannabis use on the rise

According to data from the Institut national de santé publique du Québec (INSPQ), more people reported consuming cannabis in 2024 than in 2018.

Consumption reached an all-time high in 2022, at 19 per cent of Quebecers over the age of 15, before dipping to 17 per cent in 2023 and remaining stable at 18 per cent in 2024.

Men consume cannabis at a higher rate than women (22 per cent versus 14 per cent), and young adults between 21 and 24 represent the age group with the most users (35 per cent) in the last year.

They are followed by those aged 25-34 (31 per cent), 18-20 (28 per cent), those aged 35-54 (21 per cent), and those aged 15-17 (16 per cent).

About eight per cent of people 55 and up reported consuming cannabis in the last year.

Of these users, 42 per cent said they consume cannabis at least once a month, while 18 per cent are occasional users and 23 per cent are regular users.

Daily cannabis consumers represent 17.5 per cent of responders.

Though most users still prefer to smoke cannabis (81 per cent), the INSPQ noted an interest in edible products and oral drops, concentrated pills, vaping, and “dabbing.”

The SQDC said it also noticed the trend, and is planning to introduce vaping products by the end of the year to push against the black market.

“The SQDC no longer updates its data on its market share relative to the illegal market: due to the high popularity of concentrated products (hashish and infused pre-rolls), the current calculation methods used by Health Canada and the Department of Finance no longer allow us to show a realistic picture of the situation,” it said in an email statement.