Cannabis in Canada: How has usage, retail market changed since legalization?

In the six years since cannabis was legalized in Canada, the industry has gone through rapid growth, increased uptake and better awareness of side effects, experts say.

When cannabis was first legalized in 2018, nearly 800 applications for retail cannabis licences were filed in Alberta, with 147 of them in Edmonton.

• Alberta cannabis sales remain strong after first week of legalization

So far, the city has issued 248 business licences for cannabis retail stores.

The most issued in a year was 66 in 2021 and the city has issued four this year, as of Aug. 30.

"In the beginning, it seemed like there's a new one opening every day, every week," said Doug Zimmerman, owner of the Cannabis Cellar.

Currently, there are 752 retail cannabis stores operating in the province, according to Alberta Gaming, Liquor & Cannabis.

Canada has more than 3,000 legal retail cannabis stores as of April, according to Statistics Canada.

"It is a very competitive, very difficult business. It has been for the growers, for everybody involved," Zimmerman said.

"You really have to know what you're doing, you have to be very careful, and I think some people maybe weren't."

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In the first five years of opening, nearly half of new businesses fail, according to business coach Luisa Zhou.

In Edmonton, 73 business licences for cannabis retail stores have been cancelled since 2020, with most being cancelled in or after 2022.

The city said it does not track when or if a business actually opens after a licence has been issued.

In the aftermath of legalization, cannabis sales soared and even caused shortages.

• High demand causing some cannabis stores to run out

In a 2023 survey, more than 33 per cent of Canadians between 18 and 44 said they used cannabis over a 12-month period, according to Statistics Canada. Only 15.5 per cent of people over the age of 45 said they used cannabis during that time.

Legalization promoted more research

With the increase in cannabis users since legalization comes a potential increase in addiction or cannabis use disorder, research shows.

Between 2018 and 2023, emergency departments in Alberta and Ontario saw an increase of 20 per cent in visits for cannabis-related disorders and poisonings among youth, according to a study in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.

"We need to do a better job of screening for cannabis use disorder and looking for problematic cannabis use and it's the responsibility of our frontline clinicians to do this," said Monty Ghosh, an addiction physician and researcher.

Problematic cannabis use is something that might not be as visible or front of mind to the public, compared to something like alcohol, but it is as much of an issue, Ghosh added.

According to the 2023 Canadian Cannabis Survey done by Health Canada, 11 per cent of Canadians who used cannabis over the past 12 months were considered to have impaired control with cannabis use.

This was based on questions measuring the severity of dependence scale, which is meant to indicate the severity of a person's dependence on drugs.

"Individuals are actually more and more aware that there can be problems associated with cannabis use and that they can develop an addiction to cannabis," Ghosh said. "Or they do worry about problematic cannabis use, and they are more aware of the signs and symptoms of it."

He also believes it's important to look at the potency of cannabis currently in the market.

"Things have shifted in terms of THC content in cannabis and we need to be aware of what those impacts are potentially," Ghosh added.

"We know that back in the 60s, the THC content of cannabis was quite low and right now what we're selling is quite, quite high."

People are also using cannabis to help with sleep and managing anxiety, which Ghosh said could actually be making matters worse.

• Cannabis use linked to anxiety diagnoses, worsened anxiety disorders: Ontario study

"We know that cannabis worsens people's quality of sleep, doesn't allow them to go into REM (rapid eye movement) sleep," Ghosh said. "We also know that cannabis worsens anxiety issues as well, and so using cannabis as a medication to deal with anxiety is inappropriate.

"We need to be alerting the population who does use cannabis that what they might be using it for isn't ideal and actually might worsen their symptoms."

With files from CTV News Edmonton's Jeremy Thompson