Quebec: 70% of cannabis purchases are now made on the legal market

The Ministère de la Santé du Québec published on Wednesday a report on the implementation of the Cannabis Act in the province since the legalization of cannabis on october 17, 2018.

While it's still too early to draw definitive conclusions on the effects of cannabis legalization on the black market, the report does reflect certain trends, notably the faster-than-expected initial transition of consumers to legal Société québécoise du cannabis (SQDC) establishments.

According to the information provided in the report, supply from illegal suppliers is declining and now accounts for only 11% of transactions, while 70 % of people who consumed cannabis in 2021 obtained it from an SQDC establishment. Last October, Quebec considered itself to be at 50% of the legal market. The remainder is made up of gifts or purchases from third parties, also on the decline, and probably self-cultivation, which is not specifically counted in the report.

Regular daily use has remained stable in Quebec, although the prevalence of use has increased somewhat among people over 25.

As was the case before cannabis was legalized in Canada, consumption among 15- to 17-year-olds is on the rise. continues its downward trend from 8% in 2013 to 5% in 2019. Hospitalizations and emergency room visits due to cannabis use have not changed significantly since legalization, with the exception of a one-off increase in the summer of 2020.

«I am very pleased to see that the prevention measures adopted as part of this law, as well as those we have deployed to regulate the use and legal sale of cannabis, have borne fruit,» said Réunion's Minister of Health, Lionel Carmant, in a statement.

However, the report showed that cannabis use increased during the COVID-19 pandemic in Quebec and Canada, according to a related survey by the Institut national de santé publique du Québec (INSPQ).

The report concludes that the encouraging results of law enforcement and the cannabis sales model in Quebec continue.