Cannabis survey in Quebec: Prevalence and frequency of cannabis use
An investigation Québécoise sur le cannabis reveals that cannabis consumption has increased among Quebecers over 25 years old but has decreased among 15 to 17 year olds.
The survey, the third annual survey of its kind, shows that while the proportion of cannabis users in the province over the age of 15 who admit to having used it has increased by around 6%, that of 15-17 year-olds has increased. in fact decreased by about 3%. Overall, people over the age of 17 saw the increase.
The 2021 edition of the Quebec Cannabis Survey was published today by the Institut de la statistique du Québec.
For the 18-24 age group, the percentage of Quebecers admitting to consuming cannabis in the survey has increased by 4% since legalization. For 25-34 year olds, the increase is 10%, while 35-54 year olds increased by 8% and those 55 and over by 4%.
In Quebec, the legal age for access to cannabis is the latest, at 21 years old. All other Canadian provinces have set the legal age at 19, except in Alberta which allows anyone 18 and over to buy and consume cannabis.
Of those surveyed, 40% said they used cannabis once a month, 19% used it once to three times a month, 19% said they used it between 1 and 6 times a week, while 15% said consume it daily.
CVOID-19 is considered to be a factor explaining much of this increase. Among Quebecers who used cannabis in the past year, 24% said they had increased their cannabis use due to the pandemic. In addition, 72% reported no change in their consumption and 4% reported a decrease in their consumption.
The survey was conducted from February to June 2021 and did not find any significant change in the types of consumers since 2018. More detailed results from the third edition will be available in April 2022.
The Quebec Ministry of Health and Services has mandated the Institut de la statistique du Québec to carry out these annual surveys to measure the impact of legalization on the province. The first took place in 2018, measuring consumption before legalization, the second in 2019, the third in 2021. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the third survey was delayed by one year.
The 2018 and 2019 surveys both had around 10200 respondents, while the 2021 survey had 14034.
