Abstract
Objective
The Cannabis Policy Study in the Territories (CPST) is an annual repeat cross-sectional study aiming to evaluate the impacts of cannabis legalization in the Canadian territories (Yukon, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut), where there is a paucity of data on cannabis use. This current study’s objective was to describe the 2022 CPST, including methods, population prevalence estimates of cannabis use, and legal cannabis sources and perceptions in the territories.
Methods
The 2022 CPST includes 2462 respondents (aged 16 +) residing in the territories who either use or do not use cannabis. Respondents were recruited through mail-push-to-web invitations sent via licensed mailing lists, sampling from a near census of households in the territories. Population-weighted indicators of cannabis use are described.
Results
Past 12-month cannabis use was self-reported by 46.1%, and 21.8% self-reported daily/almost daily use. The most commonly used product types among past 12-month consumers were dried flower (73.4%), edibles (59.0%), and vape oils (35.7%). On average, 74.8% of cannabis products used in the past 12 months were from legal sources, though legal sourcing varied by product type (54.4‒92.2%). Cannabis consumers reported favourable perceptions of legal compared to illegal cannabis products regarding quality, convenience, and safety, but a lesser extent for price.
Conclusion
Cannabis use is highly prevalent in the territories, particularly daily/almost daily use, and legal market penetration is high despite region remoteness. Following cannabis legalization, monitoring cannabis use prevalence and patterns in remote regions is important for informing the development of harm reduction and prevention initiatives that consider the unique needs of these regions.
Résumé
Objectif
L’Étude sur les politiques relatives au cannabis dans les territoires (Cannabis Policy Study in the Territories ‒ CPST) est une étude transversale annuelle qui a pour but d’évaluer les répercussions de la légalisation du cannabis dans les territoires canadiens (Yukon, Territoires du Nord-Ouest et Nunavut), où il existe peu de données sur la consommation de cannabis. L’objectif de la présente étude était de décrire l’étude CPST de 2022, y compris la méthodologie, les estimations de la prévalence de la consommation de cannabis au sein de la population, ainsi que les sources et les perceptions du cannabis vendu légalement dans les territoires.
Méthodes
L’étude CPST menée en 2022 a consisté à interroger 2 462 personnes âgées de 16 ans et plus qui résident dans les territoires. Les répondants incluent des personnes qui consomment du cannabis et d’autres qui n’en consomment pas. Les répondants ont été recrutés au moyen d’invitations envoyées par la poste à partir de listes d’envoi autorisées. Les échantillons ont été effectués à partir d’un quasi-recensement des ménages qui résident dans les territoires. Les indicateurs pondérés en population de la consommation de cannabis sont décrits.
Résultats
Au cours des 12 derniers mois, le pourcentage d’autodéclarations de consommation de cannabis était de 46,1 %, et 21,8 % des répondants ont déclaré consommer quotidiennement ou presque. Les produits les plus couramment utilisés par les consommateurs au cours des 12 derniers mois étaient les fleurs séchées (73,4 %), les produits comestibles (59,0 %) et les huiles de vapotage (35,7 %). En moyenne, 74,8 % des produits de cannabis consommés au cours des 12 derniers mois provenaient de sources légales, bien que l’approvisionnement légal varie selon le type de produit (de 54,4 % à 92,2 %). Les consommateurs de cannabis ont déclaré percevoir favorablement les produits de cannabis vendus légalement comparativement aux produits vendus illégalement en ce qui a trait à la qualité, à la commodité et à la sécurité, mais dans une moindre mesure en matière de prix.
Conclusion
La consommation de cannabis est très répandue dans les territoires, en particulier la consommation quotidienne ou presque quotidienne. De plus, la pénétration du marché des produits vendus légalement est élevée malgré l’éloignement des régions. À la suite de la légalisation du cannabis, la surveillance de la prévalence et des tendances de consommation du cannabis dans les régions éloignées fournit des renseignements importants pour l’élaboration d’initiatives de réduction des méfaits et de prévention qui tiennent compte des besoins uniques de ces régions.
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Acknowledgements
The authors wish to thank the territorial governments and Indigenous organizations in Nunavut, Northwest Territories, and Yukon for their feedback on and support of this study, including members of the Nunavut Advisory Council, and the Government of Northwest Territories Department of Health and Social Services, Government of Yukon Department of Health and Social Services, Nunavut Research Institute, Aurora Research Institute, and Scientists and Explorers research licensing office.
Funding
This work was supported by Health Canada’s Substance Use and Addictions Program (grant number 2021-HQ-000067).
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Contributions
Hobin: conceptualization, methodology, writing — original draft, writing — review and editing, supervision, funding acquisition.
Schwartz: formal analysis, writing — original draft, writing — review and editing.
Poon: writing — original draft, writing — review and editing, project administration.
Hammond: conceptualization, methodology, writing — review and editing, supervision, funding acquisition.
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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee (University of Waterloo Research Ethics Committee ORE #42817) and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.
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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.
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Conflict of interest
Hammond has served as a paid Expert Witness on behalf of public health authorities in response to industry legal challenges to cannabis, tobacco, and vaping regulations in Canada. All other authors have no conflicts to declare.
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Hobin, E., Schwartz, N., Poon, T. et al. Prevalence of cannabis use and the frequency, types, and sources of cannabis products used in northern remote territories of the Canadian legal cannabis market. Can J Public Health (2024). https://doi.org/10.17269/s41997-024-00891-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.17269/s41997-024-00891-9
Keywords
- Cannabis legalization
- Prevalence
- Legal sourcing
- Product type
- Perceptions
- Priority populations
- Northern populations