Data Dive: Canadian Medical Marijuana Patient Total Tops 200,000
Canada’s medical marijuana industry continues to grow at steady rate, according to the most recent data released by Health Canada.
Several things stand out from the market report, but probably most notable is the number of medical patients topping 200,000. The majority of patients reside in Ontario and Alberta; Ontario contains 86,000 patients, and Alberta had 74,000 as of the end of this past June.
| Province | April Total Patients | May Total Patients | June Total Patients |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alberta | 60,479 | 68,055 | 74,013 |
| British Columbia | 7,454 | 7,756 | 8,103 |
| Manitoba | 2,987 | 3,325 | 3,598 |
| New Brunswick | 5,284 | 5,511 | 5,748 |
| Newfoundland and Labrador | 1,853 | 2,027 | 2,162 |
| Northwest Territories | 112 | 123 | 125 |
| Nova Scotia | 7,685 | 8,087 | 8,737 |
| Nunavut | 47 | 45 | 46 |
| Ontario | 77,692 | 81,522 | 86,196 |
| Prince Edward Island | 739 | 782 | 831 |
| Quebec | 5,149 | 5,330 | 5,630 |
| Saskatchewan | 4,937 | 5,535 | 6,108 |
| Yukon | 85 | 102 | 101 |
One surprising figure: the low patient total in British Columbia. BC and Alberta are roughly comparable in population (3.8 million and 3.2 million, respectively), but Alberta has about nine times as many medical marijuana patients registered with Health Canada.
| Province | Adult Population (18+) | Number of Patients | Patients Per 1,000 Adults |
|---|---|---|---|
| British Columbia | 3,867,520 | 8,103 | 2.10 |
| Alberta | 3,288,450 | 74,013 | 22.51 |
| Saskatchewan | 883,780 | 6,108 | 6.91 |
| Manitoba | 1,018,630 | 3,598 | 3.53 |
| Ontario | 11,194,980 | 86,196 | 7.70 |
| Quebec | 6,698,900 | 5,630 | 0.84 |
| Newfoundland | 433,870 | 2,162 | 4.98 |
| New Brunswick | 616,490 | 5,748 | 9.32 |
| Prince Edward Island | 119,470 | 831 | 6.95 |
| Nova Scotia | 778,020 | 8,737 | 11.23 |
| Yukon | 29,490 | 101 | 3.42 |
| Northwest Territories | 32,900 | 125 | 3.80 |
| Nunavut | 28,800 | 46 | 1.60 |
The agency’s data also tracks the amount of cannabis sold to patients in the first quarter of the 2017-18 fiscal year. In those three months, April-June, there was steady growth in cannabis sold, cannabis released for sale, as well as the amount of cannabis inventories at licensed producer’s facilities.
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Gage Peake is a former staff writer for Leafly, where he specialized in data journalism, sports, and breaking news coverage. He's a graduate of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's College of Journalism and Mass Communications.
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