A separate Statistics Canada survey, released in March, found that 34 per cent of Canadians said their cannabis consumption increased compared to pre-pandemic.
Neuroscientist Sarah Konefal, a research and policy analyst with Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction, says there are ways to reduce the risk of cannabis use. (Submitted by Sarah Konefal)
Additionally, cannabis retail sales in 2020 were $2.6 billion, more than double sales in 2019, the data found.
Statistics Canada noted that continued monitoring of cannabis use is necessary because the impact of the pandemic is difficult to measure — and the retail landscape is shifting quickly in different provinces, with more stores opening and more products coming to market.