According to latest findings, marijuana use among teens and young adults in Canada is on a declining trend as compared to a decade earlier; however, marijuana use has increased in older age groups.
According to the 2012 Canadian Community Health Survey–Mental Health, about 12 per cent of Canadians aged 15 or older (3.4 million) used marijuana in the year prior to the survey. The percentage was higher among males (16 per cent) than among females (8 per cent).
One-third (33 per cent) of 18- to 24-year-olds reported past-year use of marijuana. The percentages of people in other age groups reporting past-year use were lower: 20 per cent at ages 15 to 17, 16 per cent at ages 25 to 44, 7 per cent at ages 45 to 64, and less than 1 per cent at age 65 or older. In all age groups except 15 to 17 (among whom percentages were similar), males were more likely than females to report past-year use.
In 2012, 16 per cent of Nova Scotians and 15 per cent of British Columbians reported using marijuana in the past year, significantly above estimates for the rest of Canada. Saskatchewan (10 per cent) residents had lower-than-average reported use.
About 2 per cent of the population aged 15 or older reported daily use of marijuana in the previous year, and another 3 per cent reported at least weekly use (one or more times a week).
About 43 per cent of Canadians aged 15 or older have tried marijuana with over half (54 per cent) of 18- to 24-year-olds and 25- to 44-year-olds having ever used it. This compared with 46 per cent at ages 45 to 64, 25 per cent at ages 15 to 17 and 13 per cent of seniors.
In both 2002 and 2012, the overall prevalence of past-year marijuana use among Canadians aged 15 or older was stable at around 12 per cent. However, trends differed by age. Past-year use declined by 30 per cent among 15- to 17-year-olds, remained unchanged at ages 18 to 24, and increased slightly at ages 25 to 44 and at age 45 or older.
Over the 10 years, the percentage of Canadians who said they had ever used marijuana fell among 15- to 17-year-olds and 18- to 24-year-olds, remained stable among 25- to 44-year-olds, and rose among older age groups. Some of the increase in lifetime prevalence at older ages, especially 45 to 64, may simply reflect aging of the cohort who were in the 25- to-44 age group in 2002.
About 97 per cent of Canadians who have used other illicit drugs (such as cocaine, hallucinogens and heroin) and 72 per cent who have used psychotherapeutic pharmaceuticals (such as sedatives, stimulants and opioid analgesics) for non-medical purposes have also used marijuana. Much lower percentages of marijuana users have used other illicit drugs (36 per cent) and psychotherapeutic pharmaceuticals (16 per cent). Because the survey did not ask about the age of the respondent at initiation for each drug used, it is not known if marijuana use preceded or followed use of the other drugs.
