Nearly six years after cannabis became legal for sale in Canada, new data shows that the majority of those who use available products buy exclusively from legal sources.
Data released Monday found that nearly 72 per cent of Canadians who used cannabis in the 12 months before the 2023 national cannabis survey was conducted only purchased from a legal retailer.
When asked why they did this, 38 percent of respondents said product safety was the main reason. About 17 percent said the convenience of shopping on the legal market was the reason for their decision. About 13 percent said they purchased from a legal source because they wanted to comply with the law.
Matthew Greenwood, board member of the Retail Cannabis Council of British Columbia, which also owns the province’s cannabis store Up in Smoke, said the numbers are “exciting.”
“It’s just nice to see that our work and that of our colleagues is paying off,” he said in an interview with Global News.
According to the data, the types of products used by Canadians vary, with dried leaves or flowers of cannabis and edibles being among the most commonly used.
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In B.C., Greenwood said one thing he can offer his customers is “complete transparency” about where he buys his products.
“I can look any consumer in the eye and say I know where the best weed in Up in Smoke comes from. “I met the farmer, went to the farm and buy it fresh from the farm every week.”
He also noted that after six years of legalization, cannabis is “outperforming beer and wine.”
Earlier this month, Statistics Canada sales data showed alcohol sales by volume fell 1.1 per cent, or 3,106 million liters, in the 2022-23 fiscal year. At the same time, provincial recreational cannabis sales increased 15.8 percent year-over-year and amounted to approximately $4.7 billion.
But while Canadians cite product safety as the main reason they buy cannabis from legal sources, some public health advocates have concerns.
Licensed pharmacist and health advisor Ken Weisbrod said there are pros and cons to “normalizing a drug,” but said there is still more work to do given that 38 percent of cannabis users in 2023 will be between the ages of 18 and 24 was required.
“There are legal source guides, which is great. There has to be a lot more,” he said in an interview. “What you call security is confusing, especially to young consumers. And you can see that it is worrying for all users of the drug.”
Weisbrod said he believes more research is needed into the effects of cannabis on the body, including long-term, but since there are more than 3,000 legal cannabis stores in Canada, he worries about what Canadians might accept.
“I mean, some streets have a cannabis store on every corner, right, We now have more cannabis stores than coffee shops,” he said. “And so you walk by and say, ‘Man, it must be safe because the government approved it.'”
He said he’s not necessarily against people buying from legal sources or Canadians who need it for therapeutic reasons, such as chemotherapy, but more work needs to be done on the “guardrails” around cannabis.
“I tell my kids all the time, I have a 26-year-old and a 23-year-old, ‘If you’re going to smoke cannabis, guys, definitely buy it from a legal source, but always talk about it.’ to me about it,” he said.
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