Key Messages
Past Year Cannabis Use
Frequency of Using Cannabis
Change in Cannabis Use since Legalization
Intends to Use Cannabis in the Next 12 Months
Usual Method of Cannabis Use
Recreational and Medical Cannabis Use
Used Cannabis and Tobacco Together
Technical Notes
Key Messages
- One-in-four adults in Simcoe Muskoka reported using cannabis in the past year; however, less than one-in-five said they intend to use cannabis in the next 12 months.
- Past year cannabis use is significantly higher among younger adults, males and those with a high school education or less.
- One-in-four past year cannabis users reported using cannabis daily.
- The vast majority of those that used cannabis prior to legalization on October 17, 2018 said that their cannabis use has either stayed the same or decreased since legalization.
- Smoking cannabis is the most common method of use by adult cannabis users in Simcoe Muskoka; however, use of cannabis oils is the second most common. Consuming cannabis edible or vaping cannabis is less common among adults.
- Two-in-three adult past year cannabis users in Simcoe Muskoka reported using cannabis (at least in part) for medical purposes.
Past Year Cannabis Use
- According to the 2019 Rapid Risk Factor Surveillance System (RRFSS), about one-in-four (26% (23.5%, 29.3%)) adults (18 years and older) living in Simcoe Muskoka reported using cannabis at least once in the past year.
- Past year cannabis use decreases significantly with age and is significantly higher among males when compared with females. This is particularly true for younger adult males aged 18 to 34 years, where approximately half (56% (43.6%, 67.6%)) reporting using cannabis in the past year.
- Past year cannabis use is significantly lower among adults with a post-secondary diploma or degree when compared with those with a high school diploma or less; however, past year cannabis use is not significantly different when comparing those with higher and lower amounts of household income.
- According the Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS), significantly more Simcoe Muskoka adults reported using cannabis more than once in the past year when compared with the provincial average. This difference was most noticeable among young adult males between the ages of 18 and 34 years. Please note that this CCHS data combines results from the 2015 through 2017 survey years. CCHS cannot be directly compared with the 2019 RRFSS data.
Frequency of Using Cannabis
- Less than one-in-ten (7% (5.7%, 9.3%)) Simcoe Muskoka adults reported using cannabis daily in the past year. Daily cannabis use is similar for adults between the ages of 18 and 64 years; however, less than one-in-twenty seniors (65 years and older) reported using cannabis daily.
- Approximately one-in-eight (13% (10.9%, 15.5%)) Simcoe Muskoka adults reported using cannabis at least once per week in the past year, this increased to one-in-five (21% (15.3%, 28.1%)) among younger adults aged 18 to 34 years.
- Approximately one-in-five (18% (15.3%, 20.5%)) Simcoe Muskoka adults reported using cannabis at least once per month in the past year, this increased to one-in-three (32% (24.7%, 39.8%)) among younger adults aged 18 to 34 years.
- When looking at Simcoe Muskoka adults that reported using cannabis in the past year, about one-in-four (28% (22.4%, 34.8%)) were daily users and about one-in-three were infrequent users (32% (25.3%, 39.4%)) that used less than once per month.
Change in Cannabis Use since Legalization
- Two-in-three (67% (59.6%, 74.1%)) Simcoe Muskoka adults that reported using cannabis before legalization (October 17, 2018) said their cannabis use did not changed in the year after legalization. Approximately, one-in-ten (12% (8.3%, 17.7%)) said their cannabis use increased after legalization and one-in-five (20% (14.8%, 27.7%)) said their cannabis use decreased after legalization.
Intends to Use Cannabis in the Next 12 Months
- Less than one-in-five (17% (14.3%, 19.4%)) Simcoe Muskoka adults said that they intend to use cannabis in the next 12 months; however, this increases to more than one-in-four (28% (20.9%, 35.7%)) among young adults between the ages of 18 and 34 years.
Usual Method of Cannabis Use
- The most common usual method of cannabis use among Simcoe Muskoka adult cannabis users was smoking it in either a joint, bong or water pipe, with 61% (55.1%, 66.5%) reporting this method.
- Approximately one-in-five cannabis users (19% (15.0%, 24.0%)) reported that cannabis oil (in drop, spray or tablet form) was their usual method of use.
- Consuming cannabis edibles or vaping cannabis were less commonly reported as a usual method by adult cannabis users in Simcoe Muskoka.
Recreational and Medical Cannabis Use
- Approximately one-in-three (36% (29.7%, 43.3%)) past year cannabis users in Simcoe Muskoka reported using cannabis only for recreational purposes, while a similar number (31% (25.9%, 37.5%)) reported using cannabis only for medical purposes. The remainder (32% (25.8%, 39.7%)) reported using it both medically and recreationally.
Among those that reported using cannabis in the past year for medical reasons, only one-in-three (32% (23.9%, 40.7%)) said that they had a medical document to support this.
Used Cannabis and Tobacco Together
- Using cannabis and tobacco together at the same time is uncommon in the overall Simcoe Muskoka adult population, with approximately one-in-twenty adults reporting doing this in the past year.
- However, 16% (11.6%, 22.6%)) of past year adult cannabis users said that they used cannabis mixed with tobacco at least once in the past year. This increased to approximately one-in-three young adult (18 to 34 years) cannabis users that reporting using tobacco and cannabis together in the past year.
Technical Notes
Information presented on this page is from the 2019 Rapid Risk Factor Surveillance System (RRFSS), unless otherwise specified. RRFSS is a telephone based survey of adults 18 years and older that live in Simcoe County or the District of Muskoka. Approximately 1,200 randomly sampled adults in Simcoe Muskoka were surveyed in the 2019 RRFSS surveys. The Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit (formerly the Simcoe County District Health Unit) has been participating in RRFSS since 2001.
The data presented in the text and chart above was analyzed by the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit (SMDHU) using the 2019 RRFSS data administered by the Institute for Social Research at York University in Toronto, Ontario. The contents above and interpretation are solely the responsibility of SMDHU.
Further Reading
For more information about cannabis use:
Page Last Modified: July 23, 2020