Well, that's awkward for anyone who predicted that legal weed would have the entire population lighting up. People in Québec have been able to buy cannabis legally for eight years now. And the numbers? Hardly the smoking apocalypse some had imagined. In 2025, 17 percent of residents aged 15 and older reported using cannabis. This year, Québec's statistics agency puts the figure at roughly 14 percent. That's about where it stood back in 2018, just before Canada legalised recreational weed. Before anyone starts celebrating, though, there's a catch. Researchers changed parts of the survey, so the apparent drop from last year isn't quite a straight comparison.
The difference is especially noticeable among younger people. Back in 2018, 28 percent of 15-to-20-year-olds reported using cannabis. Now it's around 18 percent. Among people aged 21 to 34, the figure has moved from 29 to 25 percent. For those over 35, use is actually a little higher than before legalisation. But fewer smokers doesn't mean empty cannabis stores. Nearly 72 percent of respondents who used cannabis had bought at least some of it from the provincial retailer SQDC over the past year. And among users aged 21 and over, 46 percent said they got their entire supply there. Turns out a legal market can find its customers without needing to recruit the whole neighbourhood.
There is one important warning attached to these figures. The researchers say changes to the survey may have affected the apparent decline between 2025 and 2026. And not every trend is something to cheer about. Vaping is particularly popular among younger cannabis users, reaching around 60 percent of users aged 15 to 20. Still, Québec gives other countries plenty to think about when legalisation comes up. More legal cannabis sales don't automatically mean more people consuming it. Sometimes the big change is simply where they shop. Which is a little more complicated than claiming everyone will start smoking weed the moment the government says it's allowed.
