Statistics Canada announced this week that it would measure the social and economic impacts of marijuana.
The announcement comes way ahead of legalization. The agency will start to keep track of the impacts of marijuana that include how much it contributes to Canada’s GDP.
The agency will be measuring the affects from the illegal market and the future legal market. Canada is expected to legalize marijuana recreationally in June of next year.
Statistics Canada will be measuring the impact of medical marijuana which has been legal since 2001 in the country. This is the first time the agency will measure the medicinal form of the drug.
Household health surveys will be conducted and will include marijuana questions about use to be a part of the data gathered. The data won’t be released until November 2019.
