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May 02, 2019NATIONAL CANNABIS SURVEY, 2019Q1 Statistics Canada's National Cannabis Survey (NCS) results for 2019Q1 were released today. The NCS monitors cannabis consumption and related behaviours, with results available for every province.
Statistics Canada cautions that these results have some data limitations:
"The information in this release is self-reported and has not been validated. Social desirability and fear of punishment, both of which are potential sources of bias, may be especially relevant to this analysis. Changes over time in respondents' willingness to admit drug use may be influencing the statistics but remains difficult to measure.
"The majority of the cannabis use questions from the first quarter of 2019 reference a three-month period following the enactment of the Cannabis Act (C-45). The 2018 fourth quarter data were also collected after the enactment of the Cannabis Act (C-45), but most of its cannabis use questions reference a three-month period preceding the survey interview which could have included days occurring prior to legalization (October 17, 2018) in addition to those occurring after.
Small sample sizes for some analyses may also have reduced the ability to reach statistical significance."
In 2019Q1, 17.5 per cent of Canadians (5.3 million) reported using cannabis in the last three months. This is significantly higher than the use of cannabis reported in 2018Q1 (prior to legalization), which measured 14.0 per cent. The increased usage is concentrated in Ontario and Alberta, both of which report significantly higher cannabis use compared to the national average for the latest quarter. Cannabis usage remains significantly lower than the national average in Quebec (11.0 per cent in 2019Q1)
Nova Scotia's cannabis use was 18.2 per cent of the population (144,300) in 2019Q1, a decline from usage reported in previous quarters. Nova Scotia's reported cannabis usage is not significantly different from the national average in 2019Q1. In comparison, Nova Scotia's reported cannabis usage was 20.0 per cent (158,100) in 2018Q1, which was significantly higher than the national average at that time (14.0 per cent).
With a limited sample size for the NCS, there are confidence intervals around point estimates of usage. The point estimate of cannabis use is 17.5 per cent for Canada, but confidence intervals (a range over which 95 per cent of estimates would fall using different sample populations) ranges from 16.1 to 19.0 per cent. Nova Scotia's estimated cannabis usage (18.2 per cent) has a confidence interval ranging from 13.9 to 23.4 per cent. Smaller provinces with smaller sample sizes have wider confidence intervals.
At a national level, Statistics Canada reports that cannabis use is significantly higher for those aged 15-24 than for those older than 25, a result that was also observed in 2018Q1 prior to legalization. However, usage in 2019Q1 was significantly higher for those aged 25 and up and particularly for those aged 45-64. The number of new, first-time cannabis users was estmated at 646,000 nationally in 2019Q1. Half of these new users were aged 45 and older.
Males also continue report significantly higher usage (22.3 per cent) than females (12.7 per cent).
After legalization, 47.4 per cent of Canadian users reported sourcing their cannabis from legal sources in 2019Q1, up significantly from 22.9 per cent in 2018Q1. Cannabis obtained from illegal sources was reported by 38.1 per cent of users in 2019Q1, down significantly from 51.3 per cent in 2018Q1. Likewise, cannabis users who obtained product from friends/family declined significantly from 47.0 per cent in 2018Q1 to 37.0 per cent in 2019Q1. The percentage of the population who obtained cannabis from growing/other sources was little changed in 2019Q1 compared with a year ago.
Rising cannabis use at the national level is concentrated among less freqeunt users. There was a significant rise in the number of users who only reported using cannabis once or twice in the last three months to 5.8 per cent of the population. There was also a significant rise in the number of weekly users to 3.6 per cent of the population in 2019Q1. The number of monthly users (2.1 per cent of the population) and daily users (6.1 per cent of the population) was not significantly different compared with 2018Q1.
Source: Statistics Canada. Table 13-10-0383-01 Prevalence of cannabis use in the past three months, self-reported;
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