Analyses were conducted using survey procedures in SAS . In 2020, Nova Scotia reported the highest percentage of respondents that grew cannabis plants , whereas Manitoba reported the lowest . Provinces with public retail structure, i.e., a government-run retail structure, reported the highest and lowest percentages of home cultivation, whereas provinces with private and hybrid of private and public retail structures were in between. A multivariable logistic regression model examined the correlates of home cultivation in the past 12 months . Respondents in Ontario, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and British Columbia had higher odds of reporting home cultivation in the past 12- months than respondents in Quebec. After adjusting for province and survey year, respondents living in rural areas had higher odds of home cultivation in the past 12 months than those in urban areas. Non-daily and daily cannabis consumers had higher odds of home cultivation than non-consumers. Respondents with authorization for medical cannabis in the past 12-months had higher odds of home cultivation than those without authorization.
East/South East Asian respondents and respondents aged 16–25 had lower odds of home cultivation in the past 12-months cannabis grow facility. Black respondents had higher odds of home cultivation in the past 12-months. Home cultivation among past 12-month cannabis consumers increased to a modest extent following legalization of non-medical cannabis in Canada, from approximately 6% in 2018, to 8% and 9% in 2019 and 2020. Similar estimates of home cultivation were found in the Canadian Cannabis Survey; however, the percentage of home cultivation in 2020 was slightly higher than the current study. This is potentially due to a change of question in the Canadian Cannabis Survey from 2019 to 2020 . In 2020, the Canadian Cannabis Survey asked for plants grown within respondents’ home, not necessarily grown by the respondents themselves, i.e., a family member. The current study only asked about personal home cultivation. The majority of growers appear to have abided to the non-medical limit of four plants after legalization. In 2020, three-quarters of consumers grew four plants or less in the past 12-months, compared to only half in 2018. Indeed, the median number of plants grown in the past 12- months in 2020 was 3.3, similar to what was found in the 2020 Canadian Cannabis Survey.
These results suggest that four plants is a realistic limit for the majority of growers, and that perhaps those that grew prior to legalization had either a higher limit of plants due to medical authorization, or no limit, as their activities were illegal. In addition, it could reflect a reduced need to grow higher quantities, given the widespread availability of legal sources. Future research should explore the reasons for growing and whether home cultivation reduces access to the illegal market. Home cultivation rates were lower in provinces that prohibited home cultivation, namely Manitoba and Quebec. These results complement research from the U.S., where consumers in states with more restrictive cannabis policies were less likely to report growing cannabis plants . Notably,the prohibition of non-medical home cultivation in Quebec and Manitoba is being challenged. If these laws are overturned, these provinces may see an increase in home cultivation . Ontario, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and British Columbia had the highest rates of home cultivation in 2019 and 2020. A potential explanation is access or the price of legal cannabis, where low access and high prices may encourage cultivation. For example, Ontario was slower to open legal ‘brick and mortar’ stores than other provinces: the first store opened six months after legalization. Two years after legalization, in September 2020, Ontario still had only 112 stores .
However, after the current data collection in September 2021, Ontario had 1042 stores. As Ontario increases their number of stores, greater accessibility and lower prices in the legal market may reduce incentive to grow your own plants; therefore, we may see further changes to home cultivation rates past the current study period. Moreover, if consumers were growing plants for sale, the greater availability of legal cannabis grow system is likely to reduce the demand for illegal cannabis. Quebec, the province with the lowest rates of home cultivation, also had a low number of stores per 100,000 residents in 2019 and 2020; however, Quebec also reported some of the cheapest average dried flower prices across the provinces . It is possible that retail structure could influence home cultivation rates; however, evidence of this was not found in the current study. Location may determine whether Canadians grow their own cannabis plants. Canadians residing in rural locations had higher odds of home cultivation.