More and more Quebecers are smoking jar. This is the result of the local government’s annual survey, conducted between February and June 2021 among 14,000 people. 20% of people in the province say they have used cannabis in the last twelve months. This is more than in 2019 (18%) and 2018 (14%), the year cannabis was legalized across Canada.
However, all of Quebec society has not become stone. The increase in consumption concerns ” all the age groups from 25 years », notes the report. Before this age, consumption stagnates or declines. “Among 18-24 year olds, no statistically significant change in proportion since 2018 has not been detected. On the other hand, among young people aged 15 to 17, there is a decreasedecrease in the proportion, which went from 22% in 2018 to 19% in 2021″specify the statisticians.
And that’s good news, since cannabis is very harmful to developing brains, that is, to people under 25.
Regular consumers are also slightly more numerous. The proportion of people who have smoked cannabis in the last three months increases from 11% in 2018, to 13% in 2019, to reach 15% in 2021.
However, the authors of the report bring an important nuance: ” Consumption was mesafe in the exceptional context of a pandemic. Like this consumption may have been unusual, it is difficult to draw conclusions solely on the basis of the results of this edition. »
Only 11% of purchases on the black market
This survey also sheds light on consumption patterns. First lesson: the black market has (virtually) disappeared. ” The majority (70%) of Quebecers who have consumed cannabis in the 12 months preceding the survey are supplied at the SQDC”that is, state-owned stores with a monopoly on the sale of cannabis.
Only ” 11% obtained cannabis from from an illegal supplierI “, notes the Quebec survey. It’s a feat, when you know that Canada took a long time to get rid of the black market. He represented 51% of purchases in 2018, and 35% in 2020.
This comeback of the SQDC can be explained by a greater number of stores open: 13 in 2019, 41 in 2020, then 66 in 2020. In addition, state brands sell a wider range of products. The edibleslong shunned, are now on display.
That said, the joint remains the star product, with 85% of people who consume cannabis by smoking it. However, this number is tending to decrease. Other methods, less harmful to health, are developing. “The proportions of consumers saying they ingest it in a food product, drink or as a pill or oral drops, or vape or vaporize it, have increased since 2018″says the report.
