OTTAWA - Statistics Canada says the average cost of a gram of cannabis fell 6.4 per cent in the third quarter as the legal price fell for the first time, but illicit weed continued to be cheaper.

The government agency says the overall average price of cannabis fell to $7.37 per gram compared with $7.87 per gram in the second quarter.

The move came as the average legal cannabis price dropped to $10.23 per gram, down 3.9 per cent from $10.65 per gram in the second quarter, marking the first legal price cut since legalization in October last year.

The average illegal price of pot continued to fall and slipped to $5.59 per gram in the third quarter, down 5.9 per cent from $5.94 per gram in the second quarter.

Statistics Canada based these conclusions on price quotes gathered using its StatsCannabis crowdsourcing application between July 1 and Sept. 30, 125 of which were deemed plausible.

The agency urged caution when interpreting the data, as the quotes were self-submitted and the number of responses were limited.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 9, 2019.