Men twice as likely to consume cannabis as women, StatsCan survey suggests

Statistics Canada says Canadian men are almost twice as likely to use cannabis as women.

New data from the National Cannabis Survey today shows 16 per cent of Canadians over 15 years old report using pot in April, May or June.

That's down slightly from 17.5 per cent in the first three months of the year.

Almost five million Canadians consumed cannabis in some form during the three month period. One quarter of men, and 16 per cent of women, reported they plan to consume it in the next three months.

The survey suggests men are more likely to use cannabis daily or weekly than women, and are also more likely to use it for non-medicinal purposes.

About four in 10 marijuana users say they bought cannabis illegally.

Smoking the drug remains the most common way of consuming it, with 68 per cent of men and 62 per cent of women consumers choosing this method.

At 14 per cent, women were almost three times more likely than men (five per cent) to have consumed cannabis through "other methods," including edible and topical variants.

Recreational marijuana became legal in Canada last October and Statistics Canada is tracking consumption habits every three months.