More Canadians now smoking pot compared to 1985: Statistics Canada

#Cannabis, # StatisticsCanada, # Canada'sLiberalgovernment, # MichelleRotermann

Ottawa, Feb 25 (Canadian-Media): Cannabis consumption among Canadians who are 15 and older had more than doubled,  a new Statistics Canada report said.

 Cannabis. Image credit: Facebook page

​National statistics agency has been reportedly trying to compile a picture of marijuana use in Canada in the wake of upcoming Canada's Liberal government's plans to legalize cannabis later this year.

Reportedly for the first time, Statistics Canada compared cannabis use starting in 1985 among nine national household population surveys  to get a sense of long-term trends.

It was found that cannabis use among Canadians aged 15 years and older went from 5.6 percent in 1985 to 12.3 percent in 2015.

But according to Wednesday's it was found that pot use over the last decade actually has remained stable or decreased among young people.

The report also revealed differing trends between young men and women.

Reportedly Cannabis use in boys 15 to 17 between 2004 and 2015 remained stable but showed a decreasing trend among women in the same age group.

"We do know from other studies pertaining to youth that factors such as fear of the consequences from parents or from the negative of cannabis itself could have impact on cannabis use for young people," Michelle Rotermann, senior analyst with Statistics Canada's health division was reported to state.
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Pot use dipped for both men and women aged 18 to 24 during that same 11-year span, but increased among Canadians 25 and older.

"One of the things that's changing is respondents' attitudes toward cannabis use over time, as well as perhaps their willingness to declare drug use in a survey," said Rotermann.

Several national surveys have gone into the compilation of the report including the: Canadian Tobacco, Alcohol and Drugs Survey; Canadian Tobacco Use Monitoring Survey and 1985 Health Promotion Survey.

Target populations that included youth and adults in every province were used in these surveys and the questions asked were reportedly pertained to about past-year cannabis use.

The agency mentioned that although the nine surveys used  reportedly had been designed originally for different needs, these are not perfectly comparable.

(Reporting by Asha Bajaj)​