PISCATAWAY, N.J., May 24, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Despite the legalization of cannabis sales in Canada and many U.S. states, an illegal market still exists. Now, a new report in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs suggests that higher prices and inconvenience associated with legal sources may be barriers that encourage consumers to seek out illegal providers instead.
For their research, investigators at the University of Waterloo in Ontario looked at data from the 2019 and 2020 International Cannabis Policy Study. Participants reported how much of the marijuana they used in the past 12 months was purchased legally. If respondents entered a value less than 100%, they were prompted to choose from a list of reasons for purchasing illegal cannabis.
“Legal sources had higher prices” was the number-one answer in Canada in both years (35.9% in 2019, 34.6% in 2020) as well as in the United State (27.3% in 2019, 26.7% in 2020). Convenience (both “legal sources were less convenient” and “legal stores were too far away/there are none where I live”) was high on the list as well, with the percentage of respondents who named these as reasons ranging from 10.6% to 19.8%.
Other possible reasons—such as low quality, the desire to stay anonymous, delivery speed and loyalty to a dealer—were selected less frequently as factors in choosing a purchase option.
