Quebec Cannabis Use Increased Among Adults, Decreased Among Teenagers After Legalization

A very common talking point for cannabis opponents leading up to a vote on legalization, either by citizens or lawmakers, is that cannabis use will spike among youth if/when cannabis becomes legal. It’s a talking point that is used against both medical cannabis reform as well as adult-use reform.

Cannabis opponents will hype up doomsday scenarios, acting as if young people don’t consume unless cannabis becomes legal for patients and/or adults. The ‘stoned youth epidemic’ scare tactic is as old as prohibition. Obviously, some percentage of young people are going to consume cannabis whether it’s legal for patients and/or adults or not.

Unfortunately for cannabis opponents, the data does not back up their previously mentioned claims. Quebec is one of many examples. Canada was the first G-7 nation to legalize cannabis for adult use and the first nation on earth to allow cannabis sales to any adult of legal age, regardless of their citizenship status.

Since October 2018 when legalization was enacted in Canada, a considerable amount of data has been collected. A recent examination of usage data from Quebec shows that while more adults are reporting using cannabis, the youngest group for which data is available is trending in the opposite direction. Per CTV News:

According to a survey published this week by the Institut de la statistique du Québec, one in five people over the age of 15 — 20 per cent of the population — have used cannabis in the past year. By comparison, in 2018 — the year the federal cannabis law came into effect — the rate was 14 per cent.

This increase in the popularity of cannabis is observed across all age groups, except for teenagers aged 15 to 17, where there was a decline from 22 per cent in 2018 to 19 per cent in 2021.

The biggest marijuana users are 21-24 year olds, with 43 per cent saying they used it in 2021. In general, men (23 per cent) are also more likely than women (16 per cent) to use the substance.

Cannabis supporters have long pointed to the fact that in a regulated cannabis system, identifications are routinely checked to ensure that only people of legal age are able to purchase cannabis. That is not something that happens in a regulated system, as there is no requirement to check ID at all.

The fact of the matter is that regulation works, as demonstrated by the recent data analysis in Quebec. As far as the data pertaining to adults, it’s quite possible that what we are seeing in the data is not necessarily more people consuming cannabis for the first time. Instead, it could be a reflection of more people being willing to admit that they consume cannabis now that cannabis is legal and the stigma is going away.

Of course, it’s also possible that it could be a combination of the two. Regardless, given how much safer cannabis is compared to other substances, and the wellness properties that the cannabis plant possesses, more people consuming it is ultimately a good thing.