The federal election is just a few months away, which means Canadians are going to be bombarded with claims from the government about its apparent successes, while at the same time hearing endless counter arguments from opposition parties. In this sea of endless noise, it can be difficult to parse out where the federal government actually stands on its claims, and whether the opposition parties have legitimate grievances, or are just opposing for the sake of opposing.
Just last week new StatsCan figures came out in regards to consumer behaviour and cannabis usage. Some interesting facts emerged, like the fact that men are two times more likely to consume cannabis than women are, and that men are more likely to use cannabis for non-medicinal reasons. In addition to usage patterns, StatsCan revealed that 48 per cent of cannabis consumers surveyed said they purchased some of their cannabis in the legal market.
Beside the issue of self reporting, both Butts and Meredith made their 50 per cent claim based on data that doesn’t actually mean that half the illegal market is gone. It is fantastic that nearly 50 per cent of consumers self reportedly purchased some cannabis legally, however, that figure doesn’t actually mean that half the illegal market has been wiped out. This type of analysis is incredibly sloppy, because it doesn’t take into account the quantity of cannabis purchased.
There are a variety of reasons why the illegal market is still persistent in post-legalization Canada. Those reasons largely come down to three factors: price, access and product variability. For each of those factors, the federal government failed to put consumers first when creating Canada’s legal framework. For price, it has been well documented that illegal cannabis is getting cheaper, while legal cannabis is heading in the opposite direction.
Smoke and mirrors from The National Cannabis Post!
SeeClickFlash Another file, another failure. StillNotReady OneTermTrudeau
mtmdiamond A complete lie.
Compared to pot being totally illegal if the Conservatives were governing, I'll have what the liberals have been smoking
Ha! The cannabis black market is currently selling product at half the price offered by the legitimate market. Don't try to teach a gym teacher economics! (Meanwhile, PM Dressup and Friends are busy making friends with China...)
Lol liberals are so full of shit Legalization has done wonders for the illegal cannabis market increased its profitability by about 35%
That’s what they were selling a couple of weeks ago
Pot is now 'Legal' the reason for so much ' illegal' weed is because of all the 'Greedsters' & the local & provincial politicians ' Bought' by 'Special interests' who 'Over Regulate' legal pot shops forcing them to close so the 'Chosen' pot Corps can control the market..
And now the illegal cannabis is legal! canpoli oxymoron
80% still be bought from “my guy” not legal retailers