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April 19, 2018NATIONAL CANNABIS SURVEY, 2018 Q1 Statistics Canada has released the first results from their National Cannabis Survey that is gathered to better understand the frequency of cannabis usage and monitor changes in behaviour as the result of planned legalization of cannabis for non-medical use. The data from the survey covers the non-institutionalized population aged 15 and over living in the ten provinces.
In Canada, around 14 per cent of the population reported using cannabis products for medical or non-medical use in the past three months. Usage varied among the provinces from 10 per cent in Quebec to 20 per cent in Nova Scotia; however, none of the provincial results were statistically different from the national average.
The survey asked respondents if they would change their behaviour once cannabis is legalized for non-medical use with 79 per cent saying they would not be more likely to try or increase consumption. Among Canadians who did not use in the past three months, 6 per cent said they would likely try or increase their consumption. For current cannabis users, 24 per cent said they would likely increase their consumption after legalization.
The frequency of usage among cannabis users was 40 per cent reporting daily usage, 17 per cent weekly, 14 per cent on a monthly basis, and 30 per cent reporting only "once or twice" over the past three months. Cannabis usage was higher among the younger age groups with 23 per cent of those aged 15 to 24 years old reporting usage and 26 per cent of those aged 25 to 34 year old reporting usage over the past three months. Cannabis use over the past three months was 16 per cent among those who identified as males and 12 per cent among those who identified as females.
The sources for obtaining cannabis listed by users were friends and family (31%), shared amongst a group (22%), acquaintance (20%), dispensary/storefront (19%), dealer (19%), online licensed producer (14%), authorized retailer (11%), grown (9%) and other (9%); respondents could report multiple sources. Half of cannabis consumers said they would change their source of supply after the legalization of cannabis. Around 33 per cent of cannabis consumers reported spending nothing while nearly one in four users reported spending over $250 on cannabis over the past three months.
Canadians who used cannabis in the past three months were also asked if they had consumed cannabis within two hours of driving. Among the cannabis users with a valid driver's licence, 14 per cent said they had driven within two hours of use with the proportion increasing to 23 per cent for drivers who were daily or weekly consumers of cannabis.
Source: Statistics Canada, National Cannabis Survey, first quarter 2018
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