Marijuana in Canada is Changing: Here’s What You Should Know
The Marijuana Market in Canada, keeps Growing!
People have used marijuana for healing and medicinal purposes for hundreds of years. Even though modern medicine and science have made rapid progress in the last few decades, it seems that they still don’t have an answer to many questions that are bothering people today. For example, they are still far from finding a cure for cancer. That’s why more and more people are turning to alternative treatments and marijuana is one of them. According to the latest surveys, the marijuana market in Canada is growing every year. From cannabis products to weed vaporizer devices, people are more and more interested in marijuana-related products and accessories. Before we go into details and analyze the current situation on the marijuana market in Canada, let’s mention a few things about the status of this herb in the past.
An overview of the legalization of marijuana in Canada
Back in 1923, the Canadian authorities have decided to ban marijuana. (1) The first marijuana-based cigarettes were seized 9 years later. But, the first charge for possession of marijuana was laid in 1937. This means that even back then, the authorities didn’t view marijuana use as some sort of serious crime. Another important year for the status of marijuana in Canada is 1961 when Canada became part of the international treaty signed in the United Nations. This treaty that we now know as Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs has listed marijuana in the category of most restrictive drugs. This is when this drug became an internationally controlled substance. Even today, when marijuana is legalized in Canada, this treaty is still making problems for complete legalization.
In 1999, a comprehensive survey has confirmed that over 78% of Canadians support medical marijuana use. In 2001, Canada reveals the Marijuana Medical Access Regulations which made possession of medicinal marijuana legal. Finally, in April 2017 the Cannabis Act was introduced to Canadian Parliament. This act will legalize cannabis in every Canadian province for both medicinal and recreational use. Experts expect that this act will be passed and that marijuana will be completely legalized in Canada in 2018. Now, let’s analyze the situation of the marijuana market in Canada.
Canadian marijuana market – an overview
Abacus Data, a survey agency, has conducted a survey which included 1,500 adult Canadians. According to this survey, 84% of the participants that were older than 18 have never used marijuana in any form. On the other hand, just 5% of those 16% of Canadians that have used this herb said that they are using it on a daily basis. Finally, 3% said that they use it a few times per week. (2)
Of course, we should not base our opinion on just one survey and study. For instance, Deloitte has revealed a report in 2016 that suggested that about 22% of Canadians over 18 use cannabis once in a while. Based on this data, Deloitte believes that the market of marijuana for recreational use in Canada can reach around 8.7 billion dollars. If we add the supporting services the market can reach 22.6 billion dollars. Additionally, the survey conducted by Deloitte suggested that 17% of the participants said that they might want to try marijuana if this herb is completely legal. In other words, the potential marijuana market would include about 40% of the adults.
It is very difficult to make predictions based on assumptions. Due to the fact that marijuana is still not completely legal, many people have prejudices related to it. The process of legalization and the amount of evidence that has confirmed that marijuana can actually be beneficial for our health might change the public opinion about this natural remedy.
The rise of marijuana accessories
Another interesting topic related to the marijuana market is the marijuana use accessories. Namely, people in Canada can buy this kind of accessories freely for years now. The fact is that most of them stick to accessories that have proven to be effective when it comes to marijuana use. For instance, most people use a dry herb vaporizer that can be used for consumption of other herbs too. Dozens of companies in Canada have at least one weed vape model in their offer. Using an herbal vaporizer has proven to be a cleaner, safer and more efficient way of marijuana use especially when it comes to medical use. Some of these products are expensive, but they are worth the money. The other solution is to use pipes and bongs, but these accessories are very fragile.
When talking about the size of the marijuana market, it is worth highlighting the fact that the companies in Canada focused on cannabis have started creating different products based on this herb. For example, users can now find extracts, crystallized varieties of cannabis, wax and more.
The PBO has recently announced that their estimates are that Canadians will use between 400 and 1200 metric tons of marijuana by 2021. (3) The same report has pointed out that the quick legalization of cannabis for every kind of use could lead to shortages on the market. This change may affect the price of marijuana. Another indicator that this market will grow is the emergence of completely new companies in the marijuana industry. At the same time, existing companies that have worked for a few years now are investing in expansions. They are making huge facilities where they can grow marijuana legally. This is quite natural because the same thing happened in some US states before the legalization was official like Colorado. This market has become saturated after one year.
Final thoughts
If we take a closer look at the numbers and projections we can freely say that the legalization of marijuana in Canada will keep the marijuana market growing at least in the next few years. No one can predict how much marijuana and how many marijuana accessories will be sold, but this is a promising market. On top of that, modern science will make the use of marijuana more attractive by providing new solutions for the use of this herb and by offering new evidence related to the beneficial properties of cannabis.
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