Canada exported $1.2B of illegal cannabis in 2017, Statscan estimates

OTTAWA — Not only do Canadians have a knack for growing pot, they’re also adept at sneaking it across the border, suggests a new report by Statistics Canada. Last year, about $1.2 billion worth of cannabis — or 20 per cent of Canada’s total weed production — was illegally sold outside the country, according to a provisional estimate released Thursday by the federal agency.

The figure was tucked into an economic report that is part of the agency’s broader effort to track Canada’s transition to a legalized recreational marijuana market. With the federal government expected to legalize recreational pot as early as July, Statistics Canada is also building up its capacity to collect and crunch data to monitor the eventual cannabis industry. The documents, some of which will be published quarterly, are designed to help inform governments on their social and economic policy decisions related to legalized weed. But even within the black market, Canadians have proven to be highly proficient pot growers and exporters, the study suggested. The agency estimated illegal Canadian sales of the drug beyond the country’s borders last year amounted to $1.2 billion, which represented 20 per cent of Canada’s total production. By comparison, illegal pot exports were estimated at just two per cent of Canada’s overall production in 1961, the report said.