Characteristics of cannabis users at risk of developing an addiction
Released: 2023-06-21
Canada legalized cannabis for non-medical use in 2018. One of the objectives of the Cannabis Act is the protection of public health and safety. Most people who consume cannabis do so without harm. However, a minority will be adversely affected.
A new study, "Using the Severity of Dependence Scale to examine cannabis consumers with impaired control in Canada," released today in Health Reports, found that 4.7% of past-year cannabis consumers (representing 299,500 people) were considered to have impaired control over their use of cannabis. This type of impairment puts an individual at risk of developing a cannabis use disorder (sometimes called addiction).
These results are based on the Severity of Dependence Scale (SDS), which uses five questions to assess the degree of impaired control. The SDS was included in the 2019/2020 Canadian Community Health Survey to provide more detailed monitoring of cannabis consumption and consequences in the post-legalization period.
Being young and male associated with impaired control
According to this study, several characteristics independently increased the likelihood of experiencing impaired cannabis control among people who reported using cannabis in the year before the survey. The characteristics included being male, aged 18 to 24 years, from lower-income households, single or never married, diagnosed with anxiety or a mood disorder, or having first tried cannabis at age 15 years or younger.
Frequent cannabis consumption most strongly related to impaired control
The probability of experiencing impaired control was more than 28 times higher for cannabis consumers who reported daily (or almost daily) use than it was for those who reported using occasionally (i.e., less than monthly).
The percentage of past-year cannabis consumers who reported harms from their use of cannabis was also higher among people with impaired control. For example, about one in five cannabis users (22%) with impaired control reported health, social, legal or financial problems, and 18% failed to do what was normally expected of them because of cannabis. The corresponding figures for cannabis users not considered to have impaired control were about 10 times lower (2.1% reported health, social, legal or financial problems; 1.8% failed to do what was normally expected of them).
Monitoring the number of Canadians at risk of developing a cannabis addiction is important because cannabis has the potential to harm people's health and negatively impact school performance, work and financial wellbeing. By increasing our understanding of the patterns of cannabis use and characteristics of people who are vulnerable to cannabis-related problems, this study could contribute to the development of more effective education initiatives.
Note to readers
The data from this release are from the combined year, 2019/2020 Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS), which collected information about health status, diagnoses, health care use and health determinants for the Canadian household population. Computer-assisted telephone and in-person interviews were conducted from January to December 2019 for 65,970 respondents, corresponding to a 54.4% response rate. The COVID-19 pandemic had major impacts on the collection of CCHS data in 2020. Consequently, the 2020 response rate (28.9%) and sample size (42,634 respondents) were lower than in 2019. This study used 2019/2020 combined year data pertaining to 101,228 respondents aged 15 years or older.
Past-year cannabis consumers were separated into two groups, based on the Severity of Dependence Scale (SDS) scores, those considered to be experiencing impaired control over their use of cannabis (scoring at least 4) and those without impaired control (scoring from 0 to 3). The five-item SDS screening tool measured the degree of psychological dependence based on an individual's feelings of impaired control, preoccupation and anxiety toward their cannabis use. The total score is obtained by summing the scores from the five 4-point (scored from 0 to 3) items.
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The article "Using the Severity of Dependence Scale to examine cannabis consumers with impaired control in Canada" is now available in the June 2023 online issue of Health Reports, Vol. 34, No. 6 (82-003-X).
This issue of Health Reports also contains the article "Self-reported concussions in Canada: A cross-sectional study."
Contact information
For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact us (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; infostats@statcan.gc.ca) or Media Relations (statcan.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.statcan@statcan.gc.ca).
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