Cannabis use up in Montreal in past five years: survey

“Strict cannabis regulations in Quebec — including a public retail system — has resulted in consumers switching to the legal market,” the study says.

Published Oct 19, 2023 • Last updated 13 minutes ago • 3 minute read

“Not only is there more control, it’s more discreet,” study author Natalia Gutierrez says of Quebec’s government-owned cannabis stores. Photo by Pierre Obendrauf /Montreal Gazette files

Five years after the legalization of cannabis in Canada, almost one in four Montrealers say they use pot — up from 17 per cent in 2018, according to a new study by the city’s public health department.

However, researchers said they were reassured that consumption among young Montrealers, ages 15 to 17, actually decreased from 16 to 14 per cent — a finding they attributed to stricter regulation of cannabis in the province.

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“We didn’t see any increase among youth, which is something that we’re really pleased about,” said Natalia Gutierrez, one of the authors of the study. “So (consumption) remains stable within the 15- to 17-year-old age groups.”

Among those ages 18 to 24, consumption remained at 38 per cent during the same period.

“It’s not one factor that explains this,” Gutierrez continued. “But Quebec’s strict regulation (of cannabis) is possibly an influence. I would also say that the model that was chosen in Quebec, using a public retail system, if you compare it to other jurisdictions like Ontario or British Columbia, where it’s private, at least here there is a control of the number of retails stores.

“Not only is there more control, it’s more discreet,” she said of the network of shops run by the provincial Société québécoise du cannabis (SQDC). With those shops, “you cannot promote any cannabis outside.”

By comparison, cannabis consumption jumped from 29 per cent to 37 per cent among Montrealers ages 25 to 34, and from 14 to 23 per cent among those ages 35 to 54.

Source: Montreal Public Health Department

Canada’s Cannabis Act legalized recreational use and sales of the substance on Oct. 17, 2018. Under the federal legislation, adults could possess up to 30 grams of legally-produced cannabis.

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The SQDC initially opened a dozen stores to sell a variety of cannabis products. Today, it runs a network of 90 shops and delivers the product to the home.

The study found that since cannabis was legalized and the SQDC was formed, the market share of illicit sellers dropped from 28 per cent in 2018 to seven per cent in 2022. What’s more, the proportion of consumers buying their supply from the SQDC rose from 46 to 68 per cent during the same period.

Among other findings of the survey:

Ninety-three per cent of respondents said they smoked cannabis in 2018, compared with 80 per cent in 2022.Consumption of edibles has stayed more or less same, dipping from 38 per cent in 2018 to 36 per cent last year.In contrast, consumption of beverages containing cannabinoids surged from six to 21 per cent — an increase that is likely attributed to the growing availability of such products.Still, more Montrealers believe that cannabis consumption entails health risks — 43 per cent compared to 36 per cent previously.

“From a public health point of view, these data support the path taken by Quebec, with strict supervision and a government-owned company in charge of sales,” the study concludes. “These results provide a better understanding of the situation in Montreal, and will help support prevention and harm reduction efforts.”

The portrait of cannabis consumption was drawn from survey results by the Institut de la statistique du Québec. Around 2,500 Montrealers were surveyed out of 12,000 for the whole province.

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