The sale, possession and use of cannabis for non-medical purposes were legalized on October 17, 2018, in Canada, which followed the legalization of cannabis for medical purposes about 20 years earlier. The National Cannabis Survey shared results that by 2020, post legalization, one in five people (20%) living in the provinces reported using cannabis in the past three months, up from 14% before legalization.
Based on its large sample size, data from the 2019/2020 Canadian Community Health Survey helps paint a more in-depth picture of exclusive medical and non-medical cannabis consumption across Canada.
Over one in five people (21%) living in the provinces and territories aged 15 years and older reported consuming cannabis in the previous 12 months. This result includes 13% who reported exclusive non-medical use, 5% who consumed cannabis for both medical and non-medical reasons, and 4% who consumed cannabis exclusively for medical reasons.
Quebec residents are less likely to consume cannabis exclusively for medical reasons compared with the rest of Canada
In 2019/2020, a higher proportion of residents of the territories (35%), Nova Scotia (29%), Prince Edward Island (25%), Alberta (25%) and British Columbia (23%) reported consuming cannabis in the previous 12 months compared with the rest of Canada. A lower proportion of residents of Quebec (16%) reported consuming cannabis during the same period.
Exclusive medical cannabis use was higher in Nova Scotia (7%), New Brunswick (6%), British Columbia (5%), Ontario (4%) and Alberta (4%) when compared with the rest of Canada. A lower proportion of residents in Quebec reported consuming cannabis for medical reasons (1%) compared with elsewhere in the country.
Pain management is the leading medical reason for using cannabis for all except for younger people
About three in five people aged 15 years and older (59%) who reported using cannabis for medical reasons in 2019/2020 cited pain management as a reason for their consumption. Additionally, over one-third reported using cannabis because of problems sleeping (37%), or with anxiety or depression (36%).
Almost three-quarters (72%) of people aged 65 years and older who consumed cannabis for medical reasons did so to alleviate pain. However, consumption to treat anxiety or depression was the leading reason for medical usage among youth aged 15 to 19 years (63%).
People who consume cannabis exclusively for medical reasons are more likely to consume cannabis in food or drink or in an alternative method of consumption compared with other cannabis users
Smoking remained the consumption method of choice for every type of cannabis user in 2019/2020. Almost three in four users of cannabis for exclusive non-medical purposes (73%) and for both medical and non-medical purposes (70%) smoked cannabis as their main method of use. Furthermore, 38% of exclusive medical users reported smoking as the method they used most often.
Consuming cannabis in food or drink was the next most common consumption method, with more than one in four users of cannabis for exclusive medical purposes and one in six users for exclusive non-medical and both medical and non-medical purposes reported consuming it in food or drink over the previous 12 months.
Approximately 1 in 10 people who consumed cannabis over the previous 12 months used a vaporizer.
For more information, see our infographic on medical and non-medical cannabis use.
Contact information
For more information, contact the Statistical Information Service (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; infostats@statcan.gc.ca) or Media Relations (statcan.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.statcan@statcan.gc.ca).