Health Canada says daily cannabis use has remained stable since it was legalized in 2018.

The federal agency released data from its annual survey on cannabis consumption Friday, showing approximately 25 per cent of respondents consumed cannabis daily, or almost daily.

Overall, males were more likely to use cannabis daily or almost daily at 26 per cent compared to females at 21 per cent.

Among teenagers, 20 per cent per cent reported daily or almost daily use in the last year, compared to 23 per cent in 2018.

Fifty-six per cent of respondents consumed cannabis three days per month or less, compared to 55 per cent in 2018.

The survey also found 72 per cent of people who reported consuming cannabis in the past 12 months bought it from a legal store or website, an increase from 37 per cent in 2019, as statistics were not available for the previous year.

  • Th4tGuyII@fedia.io
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    6 days ago

    It’s not like this is all that unexpected. The people who are using it legally now were almost certainly using it before it was legallised too - now they’re just allowed to say they do without trouble. I doubt that many people decided to just hop on board as soon as it was legalised.

    • i_stole_ur_taco@lemmy.ca
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      6 days ago

      I know a few people who tried it for the first time after legalization, and they all said “ehh, it’s not for me”.

      I imagine there was a spike right after legalization and now the curve is back to normal.

    • cows_are_underrated@feddit.org
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      6 days ago

      I doubt that many people decided to just hop on board as soon as it was legalised.

      Also, for those that did hop on board its quite likely they would also had done it if canna is would have stayed illegal.

    • wise_pancake@lemmy.ca
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      6 days ago

      I used to avoid it for two reasons: I didn’t like tracking it down, and I had work contracts in the US and didn’t want to have to answer any questions about cannabis while it was illegal.

      I don’t user it very often now, couple times a year max.

  • Ulrich_the_Old@lemmy.ca
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    5 days ago

    Back in 1968 they had an “anonymous” poll in my school asking about cannabis and alcohol use… The results of the poll in my class showed that about 14% had tried cannabis… This was a shock to me as I had personally used cannabis with every person in that room including the teacher… Canada still claims that about 14% of the country use cannabis… I am fairly certain that the true figure would be at least 50% since the 60s and probably a bit higher after legalization… I do know a few people my age who have taken it up since it became legal…

    • chunklefurnk@lemmy.caOP
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      5 days ago

      The true figure is nowhere near 50%. These figures match other countries, as well. In general, only about 15-20% of the population consumes cannabis. The number is a bit higher if you include people who smoke like once a year.

    • ayyy@sh.itjust.works
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      5 days ago

      “Daily or almost daily” is extremely frequent, given how tolerance works. If you’re using that often, it is problematic and indicates you need to make some changes. It works and feels way better if you take frequent breaks, anyways.

  • thedirtyknapkin@lemmy.world
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    6 days ago

    you know, i wouldn’t expect that. however, anecdotally, all of the heavy smokers I know were already heavy smokers before legalization. I only know one person who began consuming marijuana regularly after legalization.

    • Revan343@lemmy.ca
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      6 days ago

      Yeah, I know a few occasional users who only started after legalization (like my mom), but any regular users generally have been for a long time.

  • cheese_greater@lemmy.world
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    6 days ago

    Half the time I cant even find where I last left the damn vape so I give up for that day unless im stressed which is rarer lol. I live in lowkey chronic (heh) fear of it going thru the wash

  • Showroom7561@lemmy.ca
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    6 days ago

    Does this survey only cover smoking or all cannabis use like edibles, vapes, drops, etc.

    I ask because the sales of recreational cannabis since legalization went up at least 10-fold (at least until 2021), so it’s hard to think that use didn’t go up, unless they aren’t counting everything in the survey.

  • cygnus@lemmy.ca
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    6 days ago

    Anecdotally, I find that hard to believe. I also have to wonder how honestly people are responding to a survey about behaviour that was once illegal.