Drop in Quebecers who use marijuana: ISQ report

The proportion of Quebecers aged 15 and over who have used marijuana fell between 2022 and 2023, according to data released by the Institut de la statistique du Québec (ISQ).

Last year, nearly 17 per cent of the population 15 plus had used cannabis in the previous 12 months, whereas this proportion was 19 per cent in 2022.

There has been a decline in all the age groups analyzed.

In the 15 to 20 age group, the proportion of marijuana users fell from 25 per cent to 23 per cent, and in the 35 and over age group it fell from 14 per cent to 12 per cent.

The Quebec Cannabis Survey 2023 was conducted among 13,200 people between February and July.

According to the data, almost half of those 15 and over have used cannabis in their lifetime.

The 21 to 24 age group has the highest proportion (38 per cent) of people who have used cannabis in 2023. Of this group, 52 per cent used cannabis for the first time before the age of 21.

Vaping increasing

The data also showed that nearly 73 per cent of young people aged 15 to 17 who have used cannabis have done so by vaping, compared with 55 per cent of 18 to 20 year-olds who have used cannabis in the past year.

Nearly half of 15 to 20 year-olds who used cannabis in the past year did so one day a month, and around a quarter did so one to three days a month.

In a press release, the ISQ points out that even if the frequency is low, “vaping cannabis could be risky among young people, since proportionally fewer of them than older people know the amount of THC contained in the products they vape.”

In fact, 28 per cent of cannabis vapers don’t know what they’re vaping.

Cannabis vaping products are not available on the legal market in Quebec.

The survey data show that 67 per cent of people who vaped cannabis obtained the products from a family member, friend, or acquaintance.

A quarter went to a legal source in another province, while 11 per cent obtained their supplies on the illegal market and 23 per cent on the internet.

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–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews