When recreational cannabis was legalized in Canada in October 2018, many thought of it as a legitimate business model. However, if you are also one of those who thought that recreational marijuana would dominate the Canadian Market, think again!
Statistics Canada conducts a National Cannabis Survey every three months and releases the results in the quarter that follows. A surprise finding that the government agency has reported this time is that more than half of the respondents still consume marijuana for medicinal purposes and not just recreational use, which is quite in contrast with the common belief that recreational marijuana is a leader of the market.
Of the respondents aged 15 or older who used cannabis in any of the forms in the last quarter of 2018:
- 7% said that they used it for recreation
- 4% said that they consumed it solely for medicinal purpose.
- And another 4% used it for both medicinal and non-medicinal purposes
Therefore, in a nutshell, of this 15 % of respondents, more than half consumed the drug for its medicinal uses.
The quarterly-survey report also concluded that medical cannabis patients were far more willing to use cannabis and open their wallets in comparison to recreational users. Notably, 95% of medical users with documentation (valid cannabis medical card) reported spending money on marijuana in the last 3 months, compared to just 57% of their recreational counterparts.
Furthermore, more than 83% of recreational users preferred smoking their cannabis, while only 37% medical users did the same, implying that the latter set has more affinity towards other forms like sprays, lotions, tinctures, etc.
One can deduce from the survey results that weed stocks that choose to focus on medical aspects could be handsomely rewarded. Thus, medical marijuana patients offer more bang per revenue dollar to cannabis stocks than recreational consumers.
