(File photo/paNOW Staff)

By Brady Bateman

The Cannabis Craze

Cannabis use on the rise in Canada

Jul 3, 2019 | 2:00 PM

Prince Albert’s legal cannabis retailers have given insight into the demographics they have seen since legalization of the product in October.

The United Nations’ latest world drug report showed more Canadians started using cannabis each year in the lead-up to the drug’s legalization for recreational use.

The report said there was a 40 per cent increase in usage of the drug between 2013 and 2017, which it attributes to a decrease in the perception of risk around cannabis use and the national debate around legalization.

It also said the increase in Canada during this time was more pronounced in adults aged 20 or older, while it declined among young people aged 19 or younger.

paNOW reached out to Prince Albert’s two licensed cannabis retailers, Prairie Cannabis and Canaba Cannabis in regards to the demographics and mentality seen following legalization.

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“I think people are learning about what cannabis is. A lot of people havent been informed how to use cannabis in a beneficial way or they have been misinformed. Now people are starting to use it for the first time with the new knowledge,” Jim Southam, owner of Prairie Cannabis said.

“As far as demographic of people coming in, we see people across a lot of demographics who are coming in to learn about cannabis and finding out about its uses and I think that is a good thing.”

According to the UN, cannabis use overall is still higher among people between the ages of 15 and 24 than people who are 25 and older.

paNOW spoke with a manager at Canaba Cannabis who declined an interview, but did note that since legalization more people have felt comfortable with the idea of cannabis.

According to Statistics Canada, in the first quarter of 2019 only 15.7 per cent of people in Saskatchewan had reported using cannabis, the fourth lowest amount in the country only ahead of Quebec, Manitoba and Prince Edward Island.

Alberta, British Columbia and Ontario had the highest use rates, with 21.5 per cent, 19.1 per cent, and 20 per cent respectively.

Statistics Canada also shows that as of the first quarter of 2019 cannabis use by gender within Canada has been 22.3 per cent of males, and only 12.7 per cent females.

Only 4.4 per cent of people over the age of 65 in Canada are reported to have used cannabis in the past three months, making that age group by far the lowest cannabis consumers in the country.

Among other age demographics for the first quarter of 2019 Statistics Canada reports that 29.5 per cent of people aged 15 to 24 have reported using cannabis, 28.7 per cent of people aged 25 to 34, 18.8 per cent of people aged 35 to 44, 12.5 per cent of people aged 45 to 54 and 15.3 per cent of people aged 55 to 64.

The UN report says it’s too early to assess the impact of the legalization of recreational cannabis in Canada and jurisdictions in the U.S., but early trends are worth monitoring, including the persistence of organized crime groups profiting from the drug.

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brady.bateman@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @TheDigitalBirdy

-With files from Canadian Press