Nearly half of young adults in Canada are marijuana users

Almost half of young adults in Canada reported using marijuana in the past year, according to a new report by the Department of Health.

Blacklock’s Reporter says the findings, part of the Canadian Cannabis Survey 2024, revealed cannabis use remains especially common among young working adults in Western provinces.

“Use of cannabis is common in Canada,” the report stated. “The survey aimed to gather additional information to track changes in data collected.”

The study, which surveyed 12,031 respondents nationwide at a cost of $299,907 to the federal government, found 48% of Canadians under age 24 used cannabis in the past year. Among high school students, 40.5% reported marijuana use.

Regional data showed the highest rates of usage were in Alberta (54%), British Columbia (52%), and Manitoba (51.5%). Indigenous Canadians reported the highest overall usage by racial group at 37%, followed by Latinos (29%) and whites (28%).

Among young adults under 24, usage rates were particularly high among Indigenous (58%) and white respondents (57%).

Canada became the second country to legalize marijuana in 2018, following Uruguay, under Bill C-45 An Act Respecting Cannabis. The legislation aimed to displace the illicit drug market with a regulated and tax-generating framework.

“The status quo is simply not working,” then-Attorney General Jody Wilson-Raybould said during the bill’s introduction. “There is a broad consensus among Canadians that our current approach to cannabis is not working.”

However, a March 21 Legislative Review Of The Cannabis Act concluded that legalization has failed to eliminate the black market.

“The illicit cannabis market remains entrenched and too many illicit retailers continue to operate both online and physical stores,” the Expert Panel reported.

The review also highlighted an increase in marijuana use among young adults, noting that legalization “normalized” cannabis consumption.

The Expert Panel, commissioned by the health department, included Morris Rosenberg, former Trudeau Foundation CEO; Queen’s University Associate Professor Oyedieji Ayonrinde; University of Montréal Professor Patricia Conrod; University of Toronto Professor Peter Selby; and Lynda Levesque, a criminal lawyer and member of Manitoba’s Fisher River Cree Nation.

The findings add to ongoing debates about the impact of marijuana legalization on public health and its effectiveness in curbing the black market.