(Montreal) Nearly one in five Quebecers (19%) used cannabis in 2022, a proportion similar to that observed the previous year. Nevertheless, cannabis consumption has increased by 5% since the legalization of this recreational drug, indicates the report of the Quebec Cannabis Survey 2022 published Wednesday by the Institut de la statistique du Québec (ISQ).
More men (23%) than women (16%) use cannabis, the study reveals.
People between the ages of 21 and 34 consume the most cannabis. Indeed, four young adults aged 21 to 24 used cannabis in 2022; among 25-34 year olds, this proportion is 37%. The ISQ notes that consumers aged 25 and over are more numerous than in 2018 to obtain cannabis, while a decrease in minor consumers has been observed.
The frequency of cannabis consumption has changed little over the past five years, also notes the ISQ. Slightly less than half (42%) of Quebecers who have used cannabis say they do so less than once a month, while one user in five (19%) is an occasional user with one to three episodes of consumption each month. One in four users (24%) use cannabis between one and six times a week and 14% use it daily.
In 2022 as in 2021, two out of three cannabis consumers (67%) obtained it from the Société québécoise du cannabis (SQDC).
“Nearly 41% sourced from a family member, friend or acquaintance, and 8% from an illegal supplier, a proportion that has declined since 2021 when it was 11%,” the study reveals, noting that respondents may have identified more than one source of supply.
Among the different ways of consuming cannabis, vaping is the one that has gained the most followers over the past year, notes the ISQ, even though the sale of cannabis vaping products is prohibited in Quebec. .
If in 2021, 19% of cannabis consumers had vaped, they were 24% last year. Users aged 15 to 17, however, are the ones who vaped the most in 2022, at 70%. The previous year, only 44% had tried vaping.
Nevertheless, cannabis users still prefer to smoke this one; 82% have done so in 2022.
Nearly eight in ten respondents had seen or heard awareness messages about cannabis in the 12 months preceding the survey.
Young people aged 15 to 17 indicated that they had been exposed to this content in a greater proportion (91%) than their elders aged 18 to 20 (88%) and those aged 21 to 24 (86%).
