The rate of cannabis use for Canadian young adults in 2024 remains high, with nearly half of 16-to-24 year-olds having used the drug over the past year, according to a new report from Health Canada.
The rate of marijuana usage for those aged 24 years and younger in 2024 was 48 percent, the report said, which was first covered by Blacklock’s Reporter. The findings were drawn from questionnaires completed by 12,031 people nationwide.
The proportion of respondents who said they used cannabis and reported daily or near-daily use was around 25 percent, including 20 percent among youth. The report also found that 18 percent of people reported using cannabis before driving, which was a “significant decline” from 27 percent in 2018.
Smoking remains the most popular way to consume cannabis, preferred by 69 percent of users, followed by edibles (57 percent) and vaping or using e-cigarettes (37 percent).
Marijuana use was highest among indigenous Canadians at 37 percent, followed by Latinos (29 percent), whites (28 percent), Southeast Asians (17 percent), blacks (16 percent), and Arab Canadians (14 percent).
The survey found that similar to previous years, those with a high school diploma as their highest education level had higher past rates of cannabis use (32 percent) compared to those with a post-graduate diploma (19 percent). It also found that those with poorer self-reported physical or mental health had higher rates of cannabis use.
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In 2018, Parliament passed legislation that legalized access to recreational cannabis in Canada. Bill C-45, the Cannabis Act, aimed to disrupt black-market cannabis dealers and generate additional tax income for the federal government.
A 2024 legislative review of the Cannabis Act found there had been “significant progress made on several of the key objectives of the legislation,” which included shifting consumers away from the black market and reducing the number of cannabis-related criminal charges.
However, the report cited concerns with trends related to youth use of marijuana, noting that cannabis use among youth has increased without adequate support for youth intervention initiatives. It also warned of increased reports of poisoning among children who have unintentionally consumed the drug. The report also raised concerns about higher-potency cannabis products that carry greater health risks.
