The United Nations estimates that 292 million people worldwide used drugs in 2022, up by one-fifth from one decade earlier, and 64 million people suffered from drug use disorders. To mark the upcoming International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, let’s take a look at illegal drug usage and trafficking in Canada.
Just over one in five Canadians have taken an illegal substance
Just over one in five Canadians (21%) reported taking an illegal substance at some point in their lives in 2023. Of those who had used any illegal substance in their lifetime, over one-third (38%) did so in the past 12 months.
Psychedelics were the most common illegal substance used in 2023, followed by cocaine or crack and ecstasy or similar designer drugs. Relatively few Canadians (less than 1%) reported using amphetamines or methamphetamines, heroin or fentanyl.
Tracking illegal drug usage through wastewater
Every month, Statistics Canada collects samples of wastewater from seven municipalities across Canada to monitor drug usage.
Wastewater monitoring for drug use has been ongoing in cities across the globe for many years. For example, the European Union Drugs Agency monitors wastewater in over 150 cities across 28 countries across the continent. Compared with the European cities with populations of more than 100,000 people included in their analysis, 5 Canadian cities would rank among the 10 cities with the highest levels of cocaine in wastewater.
Canadian cities also displayed very high levels of methamphetamines (crystal meth) compared with cities in other countries worldwide. Among countries with available wastewater data that use comparable methodology, cities in the United States, Czechia, Australia, Canada and New Zealand had the highest levels of methamphetamine use in 2022.
Norfentanyl is one notable example of a substance that has been measured in wastewater across Canada. Norfentanyl is a byproduct of fentanyl breakdown in the body that can be detected in wastewater to estimate fentanyl consumption.
Fentanyl is an opioid that is often used medically in a hospital setting, but it is also used illegally. Its use is of particular concern since three-quarters of all accidental apparent opioid toxicity deaths from January to September 2024 involved fentanyl, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada.
Wastewater data showed that levels of norfentanyl were four to five times higher in Metro Vancouver compared with all other participating Canadian cities throughout 2022 and 2023. Toronto and Edmonton had higher levels of norfentanyl compared with Halifax, Montréal and Saskatoon.
Opioids are not only a problem here in Canada but a problem worldwide. In 2019, approximately 600,000 deaths were attributable to drug use. Almost four in five of these deaths were related to opioids, with about one-quarter caused by an opioid overdose.
Cocaine accounts for the largest share of illegal drug trafficking violations
In 2023, cocaine saw the most police-reported incidents of illegal trafficking, at 8,203 incidents during the year, or 20.46 incidents per 100,000 population, up 11.7% from one year earlier.
Methamphetamines ranked second, at 2,487 trafficking incidents for a rate of 6.20 per 100,000 population, up 1.7% from one year earlier.
Opioid (other than heroin) trafficking ranked third, with 1,786 incidents for a rate of 4.45 per 100,000 population, up 9.8% from one year earlier.
A further 324 incidents were reported for heroin trafficking (-9.1%) and 67 for methylenedioxyamphetamine (ecstasy) trafficking (+58.7%).
Cannabis is legal, but…
While cannabis became legal for recreational use in October 2018, restrictions remain in place in terms of possessing and distributing the drug.
In 2023, for example, there were 668 police-reported incidents of possession of illicit or over 30 grams of dried cannabis (or equivalent) by an adult, and 403 incidents of youth possessing over 5 grams of dried cannabis (or equivalent).
The most commonly reported cannabis violations by far, however, were for the importation and exportation of cannabis, with 4,209 incidents in 2023. These violations have accounted for about two-thirds (63.9%) of Cannabis Act violations since 2019, the first full year following legalization.
In 2023, the total number of incidents of Cannabis Act violations was down 33.4% from one year earlier and down 55.2% compared with 2019. For Cannabis Act violations other than the importation and exportation of cannabis, the number of incidents in 2023 was down 17.5% from one year earlier and down 44.0% from 2019.
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Contact information
For more information, contact the Statistical Information Service (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; infostats@statcan.gc.ca) or Media Relations (statcan.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.statcan@statcan.gc.ca).