Canada has seen a decline in drug crime over the past decade, with much of that decline attributed to the legalization of cannabis in 2018.
New figures from Statistics Canada show that after reaching a historic peak in 2011, police-reported drug crime has generally declined, driven in recent years by a decrease in cannabis offences.
The rate of drug crime in Canada in 2024 was 31% lower than in 2019, the first full year of data following the legalization of non-medical cannabis.
As anticipated, the legalization of non-medical cannabis has led to a significant shift in police-reported drug crime, which was historically dominated by cannabis offences, especially those related to cannabis possession.
Although cannabis-related arrests were already declining annually for several years before legalization in 2018, those rates predictably dropped significantly in 2019.
Highlighting this shift, in 2014, there were nearly 70,000 cannabis offences in Canada, accounting for two-thirds (66%) of all drug crime. Ten years later, cannabis offences accounted for just 17% of all drug crime.
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