Sources · Legal cannabis
This house would legalise and regulate recreational cannabis.
Fact bank v2 · 16 cards
- CB-01True
“In Canada, more than 70% of the cannabis people consume now comes from legal sources, up from about a fifth when legalisation began in 2018.”
Confirmed: legal (licensed medical and non-medical) sources now supply a little over 70% of the value of cannabis consumed in Canada, up from 22% in the fourth quarter of 2018, when legalisation began.
Statistics Canada measures this by the value of cannabis consumed (household spending), not by the number of users. In October 2023 it reported that the legal share had passed 70% by the first half of 2023. Its revised quarterly spending data now put the legal share at about 69% for 2023 and about 72% for 2025.
“more than 70% of the total value of cannabis consumed in Canada was from a legal (licensed medical and non-medical) source”
Statistics Canada·The Daily: Five years since legalization, what have we learned about cannabis in Canada?Official statistics · 16 Oct 2023 ↗ - CB-02True
“Nearly nine in ten Americans say cannabis should be legal for medical or recreational use, and 24 US states have legalised recreational use.”
Confirmed: in a January 2026 Pew survey, 55% backed legal medical and recreational use and 33% medical use only, while 11% said it should not be legal at all. 24 states plus DC allow recreational use.
Pew says 53% of Americans live somewhere recreational cannabis is legal. Recreational cannabis is still illegal under US federal law, although in April 2026 the US Justice Department moved FDA-approved and state-licensed medical marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III.
“Just 11% say the drug should not be legal at all.”
Pew Research Center·Key facts about Americans and marijuanaIndependent research institute · 26 May 2026 ↗ - CB-03True
“Germany legalised recreational cannabis for adults in April 2024, allowing people to possess up to 25 grams.”
Confirmed: Germany's Cannabis Act came into force on 1 April 2024. Adults may legally carry up to 25 g, and may keep up to 50 g at home.
Each adult may also grow up to three plants at home for personal use, and non-commercial 'cannabis clubs' of up to 500 members may grow cannabis and share it with members. It is a non-commercial model, not a North American-style retail market.
“Possession of amounts up to 25 g is legal for adults.”
European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies (WHO)·Recreational cannabis use legalized in GermanyIntergovernmental body · 15 May 2024 ↗ - CB-04True
“Early evidence from Germany found no significant rise in cannabis use or drug-driving in the first eight months after legalisation.”
Confirmed: a study comparing Germany with Austria found no significant short-term effect on cannabis use or driving under the influence of cannabis eight months after legalisation.
Past-year use in Germany rose from 12.1% to 14.4%, but that trend was not significantly different from Austria's. This is short-term evidence only; the authors call for longer monitoring of drug-driving and traffic data.
“Eight months after legalisation, no significant short-term effects on cannabis use or DUIC were observed.”
The Lancet Regional Health - Europe (via NCBI PubMed, NIH)·Short-term effects of cannabis legalisation in Germany on driving under the influence of cannabis: a difference-in-differences analysis using Austria as a control (Lancet Regional Health - Europe, PubMed abstract)Government / parliament · 23 Jan 2026 ↗ - CB-05True
“Even under prohibition, about 1 in 15 adults aged 16 to 59 in England and Wales used cannabis in the past year.”
Confirmed: in the year ending March 2025, 6.5% of people aged 16 to 59 said they had used cannabis in the last 12 months, including 12.5% of 16 to 24 year olds.
These figures come from the Crime Survey for England and Wales. Cannabis has been the most used illegal drug in England and Wales every year since estimates began in 1995. Use among 16 to 24 year olds is lower than it was in 2015.
“6.5% of people aged 16 to 59 years and 12.5% of people aged 16 to 24 years reported having used the drug”
Office for National Statistics·Drug misuse in England and Wales: year ending March 2025Official statistics · 11 Dec 2025 ↗ - CB-06True
“In the UK, cannabis is a Class B drug and possession can carry up to five years in prison.”
Confirmed: cannabis is Class B. The maximum penalty is 5 years for possession and 14 years for supply or production, with an unlimited fine possible in both cases.
These are maximum sentences. The same government page says police can give a warning or an on-the-spot fine of up to £90 to someone found with cannabis.
“Up to 5 years in prison, an unlimited fine or both”
GOV.UK·Drugs penaltiesGovernment / parliament · 22 Sept 2026 ↗ - CB-07True
“Daily use of high-potency cannabis is linked to nearly five times the odds of psychosis, and about 30% of new psychosis cases in London could be prevented if high-potency cannabis were not available.”
Confirmed: the EU-GEI study found an adjusted odds ratio of 4.8 for daily high-potency use, and estimated that 30.3% of first-episode psychosis cases in London (50.3% in Amsterdam) could be prevented.
This was a case-control study of 901 first-episode psychosis patients and 1,237 controls at 11 sites, published in Lancet Psychiatry in 2019. High potency meant 10% THC or more. The 'preventable' figures assume that the link is causal.
“rising to 30·3% (15·2-40·0) in London and 50·3% (27·4-66·0) in Amsterdam”
The Lancet Psychiatry (via NCBI PubMed, NIH)·The contribution of cannabis use to variation in the incidence of psychotic disorder across Europe (EU-GEI): a multicentre case-control study (PubMed abstract)Government / parliament · 19 Mar 2019 ↗ - CB-08True
“A Danish study estimated that up to 30% of schizophrenia cases in men aged 21 to 30 could have been prevented by avoiding cannabis use disorder.”
Confirmed: using Danish health records, researchers estimated that as many as 30% of schizophrenia cases among men aged 21 to 30 might have been prevented by averting cannabis use disorder.
The study, published in Psychological Medicine in 2023 and co-led by NIDA, covered more than 6 million people across five decades. It concerns cannabis use disorder (problematic, dependent use), not all cannabis use. The estimate comes from statistical modelling of an association.
“as many as 30% of cases of schizophrenia among men aged 21-30 might have been prevented by averting cannabis use disorder”
National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIH)·Young men at highest risk of schizophrenia linked with cannabis use disorderGovernment / parliament · 4 May 2023 ↗ - CB-09True
“In Ontario, Canada, the share of new schizophrenia cases linked to cannabis use disorder almost tripled as cannabis was liberalised and then legalised.”
Confirmed: the share of schizophrenia cases associated with cannabis use disorder rose from 3.7% before legalisation to 10.3% in the legalisation period.
This 2025 cohort study covered 13.6 million Ontarians aged 14 to 65. Overall schizophrenia incidence stayed stable, and the rise was steady rather than jumping at each policy change. It shows an association, not proof that legalisation caused the rise.
“the proportion of incident cases of schizophrenia associated with CUD almost tripled during a period of substantial liberalization of cannabis policy”
JAMA Network Open·Changes in Incident Schizophrenia Diagnoses Associated With Cannabis Use Disorder After Cannabis LegalizationPeer-reviewed research · 3 Feb 2025 ↗ - CB-10True
“Commercial legal cannabis markets in Canada and the US have been linked to more adult cannabis use, more cannabis use disorder and stronger products.”
Confirmed: a 2026 review of international cannabis policy changes from 2000 to 2025 found that commercial legal markets were associated with higher adult use, more cannabis use disorder and rising potency.
The same review found weaker links for tightly regulated models that limit commercialisation, and little evidence of harm from decriminalisation. Critics of commercial markets and supporters of strict regulation can both cite it.
“Commercialised legal markets for non-medical use in Canada and the USA were associated with increased prevalence of cannabis use and cannabis use disorder in adults”
The Lancet Psychiatry (via NCBI PubMed, NIH)·International cannabis policies and their association with cannabis use, cannabis use disorder, and other psychiatric disorders (PubMed abstract)Government / parliament · 1 Jul 2026 ↗ - CB-11True
“More Americans now use cannabis daily or near-daily than drink alcohol that often: 17.7 million versus 14.7 million in 2022.”
Confirmed: the 2022 US national drug use survey recorded 17.7 million daily or near-daily cannabis users and 14.7 million daily or near-daily drinkers, the first time cannabis came out ahead.
Far more people drink overall, but heavy, frequent use is much more common among cannabis users. From 1992 to 2022, the per-person rate of daily or near-daily cannabis use rose 15-fold. The author links these trends to policy liberalisation.
“the 2022 survey, for the first time, recorded more daily and near daily users of cannabis than alcohol (17.7 vs. 14.7 M)”
Addiction (via NCBI PubMed, NIH)·Changes in self-reported cannabis use in the United States from 1979 to 2022 (Addiction, PubMed abstract)Government / parliament · 22 May 2024 ↗ - CB-12True
“About 3 in 10 people who use cannabis have cannabis use disorder.”
Confirmed: the US CDC estimates that approximately 3 in 10 people who use cannabis have cannabis use disorder.
The CDC says the risk is higher for people who start young and use often. It also says average THC concentration almost doubled, from 9% in 2008 to 17% in 2017. This is a US estimate.
“Approximately 3 in 10 people who use cannabis have cannabis use disorder.”
US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention·Understanding Your Risk for Cannabis Use DisorderGovernment / parliament · 5 Dec 2024 ↗ - CB-13Mostly false
“Legalising medical cannabis reduces opioid overdose deaths.”
An early study linked US state medical cannabis laws to lower opioid overdose deaths from 1999 to 2010. Repeating the same analysis through 2017 flipped the association from -21% to +23%, and the authors concluded the link was probably spurious.
This comes from a 2019 PNAS study that re-ran the original 2014 analysis. It also found no link between recreational laws and opioid deaths. The authors say claims that cannabis laws cut overdose deaths 'should be met with skepticism'.
“the association between state medical cannabis laws and opioid overdose mortality reversed direction from −21% to +23%”
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (via NCBI PubMed, NIH)·Association between medical cannabis laws and opioid overdose mortality has reversed over time (PNAS, PubMed abstract)Government / parliament · 10 Jun 2019 ↗ - CB-14Mixed
“Legalising recreational cannabis leads to more teenagers using it.”
The evidence is mixed. A 2024 meta-analysis of US studies linked recreational legalisation to modestly higher odds of past-month cannabis use among young people, more so among young adults than adolescents. But a 47-state study of nearly 900,000 high school students found no net increase through 2021.
In the meta-analysis's more recent studies, the odds of past-month use were about 9% higher for adolescents and 22% higher for young adults. The high school study (JAMA Pediatrics, 2024) found retail sales were linked to more teens not using at all, but to more frequent use among teens who did use. A 2026 Northern California study of 1.3 million teen screening questionnaires found use rose after legalisation, then fell after the COVID-19 pandemic, returning to pre-legalisation levels by 2024.
“Our meta-analytic results showed modest positive effects of RCL on past-month cannabis use (more so in young adults than in adolescents)”
Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (via NCBI PubMed, NIH)·Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis: Medical and Recreational Cannabis Legalization and Cannabis Use Among Youth in the United States (PubMed abstract)Government / parliament · 27 Mar 2024 ↗Further sources for this card
- JAMA Pediatrics (Coley et al., 2024, full text via PubMed Central, NIH) · Recreational Cannabis Legalization, Retail Sales, and Adolescent Substance Use Through 2021 ↗
- JAMA Network Open (Young-Wolff et al., 2026, via NCBI PubMed, NIH) · Adolescent Cannabis Use After Cannabis Legalization and the COVID-19 Pandemic (PubMed abstract) ↗
- CB-15Mixed
“Legalisation has caused a surge in schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders.”
A 2026 review of cannabis policy changes worldwide found no consistent evidence that they changed how common psychotic disorders are. It did find that commercial legalisation was linked to more hospital admissions for psychosis, including psychosis alongside cannabis use disorder.
Individual-level studies link daily use of high-potency cannabis to psychosis (see CB-07). In Ontario, schizophrenia incidence stayed stable, but new diagnoses of unspecified psychosis were about 84% higher in 2018-2022 than in 2006-2015, and the share of schizophrenia cases linked to cannabis use disorder rose (see CB-09). These are associations, not proof that legalisation caused the changes.
“There was no consistent evidence for associations between policy change and the prevalence or incidence of psychotic disorders.”
The Lancet Psychiatry (via NCBI PubMed, NIH)·International cannabis policies and their association with cannabis use, cannabis use disorder, and other psychiatric disorders (PubMed abstract)Government / parliament · 1 Jul 2026 ↗Further sources for this card
- JAMA Network Open (Myran et al., 2025, via NCBI PubMed, NIH) · Changes in Incident Schizophrenia Diagnoses Associated With Cannabis Use Disorder After Cannabis Legalization (PubMed abstract) ↗
- The Lancet Psychiatry (Di Forti et al., 2019, via NCBI PubMed, NIH) · The contribution of cannabis use to variation in the incidence of psychotic disorder across Europe (EU-GEI): a multicentre case-control study (PubMed abstract) ↗
- CB-16Mostly false
“Legalisation wipes out the illegal cannabis market.”
Legalisation shrank Canada's illegal market sharply but did not eliminate it. Legal sources went from 22% of the value of cannabis consumed in late 2018 to about 70% within five years, leaving roughly 30% to unlicensed sellers.
Statistics Canada's revised quarterly spending data show unlicensed sources still took about 28% of household cannabis spending in 2025, roughly $2.6 billion. These are Canadian figures; results in other countries may differ.
“more than 70% of the total value of cannabis consumed in Canada was from a legal (licensed medical and non-medical) source”
Statistics Canada·The Daily: Five years since legalization, what have we learned about cannabis in Canada?Official statistics · 16 Oct 2023 ↗
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