Typical cannabis users in province are young men, survey suggests

It is an amendment to the federal cannabis law that has been sought by medical organizations in Quebec and elsewhere in Canada. But a decision by the Legault government to increase the minimum age for legal cannabis consumption to 21 from 18 could also blow a major hole through Quebec’s legal cannabis market, a survey by Quebec’s Institut de statistique suggests. The survey, conducted before cannabis legalization, between March and June, polled 10,000 respondents aged 15 and older. Details of the poll made public Monday suggest that “all things being equal, it is Quebecers aged 18 to 24 who are the largest consumers of cannabis.” The survey also found that in the 12 months prior to the survey being conducted, males were more likely to have used cannabis than women. Figures compiled by the study also suggest that 75 per cent of respondents procured their (then illegal) supply of cannabis from “a family member, a friend or an acquaintance.” Overall, 48 per cent of respondents age 15 and over said they had consumed cannabis at some point in their life, while 14 per cent admitted to using it within the 12 months prior to the survey period. Also, about 40 per cent of respondents said they used cannabis once a month while 15 per cent said they consumed it on a daily basis. The majority of respondents — 95 per cent — said they consumed cannabis by smoking it, while the next most popular method was to consume cannabis food products. A similar majority — 94 per cent — said they had consumed cannabis inside or just outside a residence, while 33 per cent said they had also consumed on a city street, alleyway or park. And even as efforts continue on the part of law enforcement to establish a legally reliable means to detect motorists driving under the influence of cannabis, 14 per cent of respondents said they took the wheel on at least three occasions within two hours of their having used cannabis.