On August 15, 2019 Statistics Canada released an avalanche of new data on the habits of the five million Canadians who consumed cannabis during Q1 and Q2, 2019.
Home grown cannabis supplied 8% of the market.
Thirty-seven percent of users said that they used cannabis that they got from friends and family. Women claimed to have received more free dope than men.
Forty percent of Canadians who consumed cannabis said that they patronised black-market dealers in the first half of the year.
Forty-eight percent of cannabis consumers said they bought some of their cannabis from a legal source, “such as a legally authorized retailer or an online licensed producer.”
“Gerry Butts, and senior policy adviser Tyler Meredith, were quick to pat themselves on the back for ‘wiping out half of the illegal market’” stated the National Post, “Wiping out half of the illegal market would be incredible, and something worth congratulating, if it were true.”
“The first issue with their claim is that Canadians surveyed had to self report, meaning they had to admit to committing an illegal act in order to fall into the ‘purchased illegally’ category,” continued the National Post.
“Anyone who has taken an introductory research methods course knows that this percentage is almost certainly undervalued, with the real percentage of illegal purchasers being much higher.
Facing the reality of admitting to a crime, it is likely that many of those surveyed opted for the family & friends option, over admitting to making illegal purchases.”
In this podcast, Equity Guru’s Guy Bennett (aka “Lukas Kane”) talks to Jerry – a long time Canadian cannabis user who explains why he is reluctant to abandon the black market (it isn’t about price).
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