Cannabis consumption in Canada is up in the third quarter of this year.
Statistics Canada is reporting that Canadian household expenditure on cannabis for medical and non-medical use was up 1.1 per cent in July, August and September, following a 1.8 per cent increase in the second quarter. Stats Can added that household expenditure on cannabis has increased for six consecutive quarters, averaging a growth rate of 1.5 per cent.
Consumption has increased 73 per cent since the second quarter of 2001, when the Canadian government passed legislation legalizing the consumption of cannabis for medical purposes.
The federal agency said Canadians spent $5.9 billion on cannabis products in the third quarter and nearly 84 per cent or $4.9 billion was bought illegally for non-medical use. However, that figure has fallen from 98 per cent in the second quarter of 2014, reflecting increases in cannabis consumption for medical use. Stats Can added that an estimated 1.9 per cent of this consumption was from home production for own non-medical use.
The agency said spending on cannabis for medical purposes totalled $836 million, representing 14.2 per cent of the total. This includes $88 million of homegrown cannabis for own medical use.
