StatsCan: Nearly 1/3 of young adults in Canada use cannabis

Feb 24 2018, 6:55 am

The legalization of cannabis in Canada is right on the horizon – even with the recently announced delays – but it appears that a good portion of Canadians aren’t willing to wait until this summer to get their hands on the green stuff.

According to Statistics Canada’s most recent Tobacco, Alcohol, and Drugs Survey, nearly one third of young adults aged 20 to 24 had smoked or consumed marijuana within the past year – 30% of respondents, to be exact.

The percentages were still high when looking a little younger, with 21% of 15 to 19 year olds claiming to have used cannabis.

However, the numbers dropped significantly when looking at respondents aged 25 and over, with only 10% stating that they had used the drug within the past year.

Overall, 12% of the 15,154 respondents stated that they were cannabis-users during the 2015 survey, which would translate to 3.6 million people if representing the population as a whole.

A total of 33% of those users said that they use the drug on a daily or almost daily basis, and 72% reported having used cannabis within the past three months.

Unsurprisingly, BC was the most prevalent in cannabis use, with 17% of BC respondents stating that they had used it in the past year. Prince Edward Island was on the other end of the spectrum, with only 8%.

Whether these numbers will decrease, increase, or remain the same on the other side of legalization is still to be determined, but we’re sure StatCan will be there to find out.

Daily Hive StaffDaily Hive Staff

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