The price of cannabis has a more significant effect on consumer behaviour than store count, according to a newly published study on the Canadian cannabis market.
Published in European Addiction Research, ‘Exploring Associations between Cannabis Prices, Stores, and Usage after Recreational Legalization’ examined trends from 2019 to 2023, in which time legal cannabis stores increased 13-fold, while prices dropped by 28% on average.
Since 2019, one year after Canada legalized cannabis for adult-use, the number of licenced cannabis stores jumped from 250 to over 3500 in 2023.
According to the study led by Michael J. Armstrong of Brock University, this only had a limited impact on overall cannabis use.
By analyzing government data on cannabis use prevalence, product choices and age of initiation across Canada’s 10 provinces, the findings show that cannabis use increased among women and people aged 25 and over, but there were no significant changes among men or adults ages between 16 and 24, and the percentage of daily users remained largely consistent.
However, the study also found that lower prices correlated with increased consumption among older adults and women, as well as a shift from dried cannabis to edibles.
Furthermore, the average age of first-time users increased over this period, which is attributed to both lower prices and store availability.
This flies in the face of studies from the US which implicate a direct link between store density and usage rates, suggesting Canada’s dual online and physical sales model may have softened the impact of store volumes on consumption behaviour.
