Table 9
Police-reported crime for selected drug offences, Canada, 2020 and 2021


Table 9
Police-reported crime for selected drug offences, Canada, 2020 and 2021
Table summary
This table displays the results of Police-reported crime for selected drug offences. The information is grouped by Type of offence (appearing as row headers), 2020, 2021, Change in rate 2020 to 2021 and Change in rate 2011 to 2021, calculated using number, rate and percent units of measure (appearing as column headers).
Type of offence 2020Note r: revised 2021 Change in rate 2020 to 2021 Change in rate 2011 to 2021
number rate number rate percent
Total drug offences 67,486 177 61,798 162 -9 -51
Total cannabis offencesTable 9 Note 1 12,790 34 13,560 35 5 -84
Cannabis (Cannabis Act) - possessionTable 9 Note 2 1,399 4 1,254 3 -11 Note ...: not applicable
Cannabis (Cannabis Act) - distributionTable 9 Note 2 1,128 3 1,073 3 -5 Note ...: not applicable
Cannabis (Cannabis Act) - saleTable 9 Note 2 922 2 972 3 5 Note ...: not applicable
Cannabis (Cannabis Act) - importation or exportationTable 9 Note 2 Table 9 Note 3 7,614 20 8,940 23 17 Note ...: not applicable
Cannabis (Cannabis Act) - productionTable 9 Note 2 1,037 3 819 2 -21 Note ...: not applicable
Cannabis (Cannabis Act) - otherTable 9 Note 2 Table 9 Note 4 552 1 467 1 -16 Note ...: not applicable
Total other drug offences (excluding cannabis) 54,696 144 48,238 126 -12 24
Cocaine - possession 6,456 17 5,135 13 -21 -37
Cocaine - trafficking 8,484 22 7,692 20 -10 -30
Cocaine - production or importation/exportation 579 2 422 1 -28 19
Methamphetamine - possession 10,501 28 8,120 21 -23 209
Methamphetamine - trafficking 3,423 9 2,976 8 -14 181
Methamphetamine - production or importation/exportation 252 1 251 1 -1 241
Ecstasy - possession 220 1 146 Note 0s value rounded to 0 (zero) where there is a meaningful distinction between true zero and the value that was rounded -34 -73
Ecstasy - trafficking 104 Note 0s value rounded to 0 (zero) where there is a meaningful distinction between true zero and the value that was rounded 67 Note 0s value rounded to 0 (zero) where there is a meaningful distinction between true zero and the value that was rounded -36 -76
Ecstasy - production or importation/exportation 305 1 260 1 -15 834
Heroin - possession 2,031 5 1,320 3 -35 115
Heroin - trafficking 704 2 451 1 -36 8
Heroin - production or importation/exportation 91 Note 0s value rounded to 0 (zero) where there is a meaningful distinction between true zero and the value that was rounded 163 Note 0s value rounded to 0 (zero) where there is a meaningful distinction between true zero and the value that was rounded 78 106
Opioids (not heroin) - possessionTable 9 Note 5 3,492 9 4,029 11 15 Note ...: not applicable
Opioids (not heroin) - traffickingTable 9 Note 5 1,685 4 1,806 5 7 Note ...: not applicable
Opioids (not heroin) - production or importation/exportationTable 9 Note 5 82 Note 0s value rounded to 0 (zero) where there is a meaningful distinction between true zero and the value that was rounded 161 Note 0s value rounded to 0 (zero) where there is a meaningful distinction between true zero and the value that was rounded 95 Note ...: not applicable
Other drugs - possessionTable 9 Note 5 Table 9 Note 6 7,974 21 7,450 19 -7 Note ...: not applicable
Other drugs - traffickingTable 9 Note 5 Table 9 Note 6 5,706 15 5,079 13 -11 Note ...: not applicable
Other drugs - production or importation/exportation or otherTable 9 Note 5 Table 9 Note 6 2,607 7 2,710 7 3 Note ...: not applicable
... not applicable
0s value rounded to 0 (zero) where there is a meaningful distinction between true zero and the value that was rounded
r revised
Note 1

As a result of the coming into force of the Cannabis Act on October 17, 2018, all prior cannabis-related legislation under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (CDSA) has been replaced with the Cannabis Act. A select few historical incidents were reported under prior CDSA cannabis legislation and are included in the total cannabis offences category, accounting for 0.3% of total cannabis offences in 2021 and 1.1% of total cannabis offences in 2020. Therefore, the sum of all Cannabis Act offences will not equal total cannabis offences.

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Note 2

The Cannabis Act came into force October 17, 2018; therefore, there is no percentage change from 2011 to 2021.

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Note 3

In 2021, the rate of offences related to importation or exportation accounted for the vast majority of the increase among Cannabis Act offences, rising 17% from 20 incidents per 100,000 to 23 incidents per 100,000. This follows a 30% decrease in 2020. Together, the Montréal, Quebec and Vancouver, British Columbia census metropolitan areas (CMAs) accounted for the majority of the national increase in importation or exportation offences reported under the Cannabis Act. Overall, these two CMAs accounted for 81% (7,251 of 8,940 incidents) of the reported incidents. The high proportion of offences was due in part to operational conditions and reporting of seizure cases, conducted by the Canada Border Services Agency and the Canada Post Mail Centre. These cases are forwarded for processing and investigation, and as a result of this exchange, the year in which occurrences were reported by police may not always correspond to the year in which they occurred. Therefore, year-over-year changes in these offences should be considered with caution.

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Note 4

Includes "other Cannabis Act" offences, such as possession, production, sale, distribution or importation of anything for use in production or distribution of illicit cannabis, and use of a young person in the commission of a cannabis offence.

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Note 5

In November 2017, the Uniform Crime Reporting Survey began counting violations involving opioids (other than heroin) under their own unique violation codes. Prior to this, violations involving opioids (including fentanyl) were counted within the category of "other drugs"; therefore, the percentage change from 2011 to 2021 for violations involving opioids or "other drugs" are not shown.

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Note 6

Includes all other drugs listed under the CDSA, such as prescription drugs, barbiturates, LSD and "drugs used to facilitate sexual assault". Trafficking and production of other drugs includes the possession, production, sale or importation of anything (such as precursors) with the knowledge that it will be used in the production or trafficking of a controlled substance (as defined in section 2(1) of the CDSA).

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Note: Police-reported statistics may be affected by differences in the way police services deal with offences. In some instances, police or municipalities might choose to deal with some offences using municipal bylaws or provincial provisions rather than Criminal Code provisions. Counts are based on the most serious violation in the incident. One incident may involve multiple violations. Data for specific types of crime are available, in most cases, from 1977. Rates are calculated on the basis of 100,000 population. Percentage changes are based on unrounded rates. Populations are based upon July 1st estimates from Statistics Canada, Centre for Demography.
Source: Statistics Canada, Canadian Centre for Justice and Community Safety Statistics, Uniform Crime Reporting Survey.
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