Table 4 
Number and percentage of current consumers who access cannabis from each source, by year, Canada (provinces only), second and third quarters of 2018 and 2019 

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Number and percentage of current consumers who access cannabis from each source, by year, Canada (provinces only), second and third quarters of 2018 and 2019
Thousands – People% – PeopleLower limit (%) – 95% confidence interval 2Upper limit (%) – 95% confidence interval 2
2019 (second and third quarters combined)        
Total        
Grown by the user or another person 410.2 8.2 6.3 10.6
Illegal source 2,125.0 42.31 38.7 46.0
Legal source 2,639.6 52.61 49.0 56.2
Only legal        1,423.6 28.41 25.3 31.7
Friends and family 1,953.1 38.91 35.5 42.4
Other 179.4 3.6E 2.5 5.1
2018 (second and third quarters combined)        
Total        
Grown by the user or another person            424.2 9.2 7.3 11.6
Illegal source        2,385.4 51.9 48.0 55.8
Legal source        1,038.2 22.6 19.6 25.8
Only legal            479.0 10.4 8.5 12.7
Friends and family        2,259.1 49.2 45.3 53.0
Other            171.8 3.7E 2.6 5.3
E
use with caution
Note(s):
  • Source of cannabis was based on the following question: "In the past three months, where did you get the cannabis you used?" Eleven response categories were provided and reduced to 5 for this table: 1) Grow – I grow or someone else grows; 2) Legal – authorized retailer or online from a licensed producer; 3) Illegal – Compassion club, dispensary or storefront, online from another source, acquaintance, or dealer; 4) Friends or family – family member or friend or shared around a group of friends; 5) Other.
  • A higher than expected number of cannabis users reported having accessed cannabis from a legal source prior to official legalization (Cannabis Act). The accurate identification of a legal cannabis source might have been more challenging during the months immediately preceding the implementation of the Cannabis Act when unlicensed cannabis storefronts and dispensaries were comparatively common but nonetheless illegal. The legal status of the source was not verified.
  • Because respondents could choose more than one category, the sum of the percentages may not add to 100%.
Source(s):
National Cannabis Survey (5262).

Table note 1

Signficantly different from corresponding 2018 estimate.

Table note 2

Confidence intervals are used to express the precision of the estimate.
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