Canada’s national statistics agency has been collecting and testing municipal wastewater samples from five cities for traces of cannabis to gauge actual usage of the now legal drug. The results are surprising: In some cases they contradict other Statistics Canada data on pot use, while shedding light on the potential size of the black market.
What’s surprising is that Montreal’s levels are so high, when only 10 per cent of Quebecers reported cannabis use in the second quarter, the lowest of any province. Edmonton’s low wastewater results are also confounding, as Alberta had the third-highest reported cannabis use at 20 per cent. In analyzing the Montreal wastewater data, the agency said factors beyond simple cannabis use per capita could be skewing the results. “It is possible that the consumption per user could be greater,” according to the report. “It is also possible that cannabis use in Montreal is measurably higher than for the rest of Quebec.”
Can we order a sewage screening in Ottawa after a Liberal Party Convention?