The number of Canadians who admit they have used marijuana or hashish has nearly doubled over 13 years, according to a recent government study released.

About 12.2 percent of Canadians over the age of 15 surveyed said they used pot at least once in a 12-month period in 2002, up from 6.5 percent in a 1989 study, and 7.4 percent in a 1994 survey, Statistics Canada said.

Prime Minister Paul Martin told reporters in Ottawa that, despite the report's findings, he still planned to introduce legislation to decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana.

The decriminalization plan has drawn fire from U.S. anti-drug officials who complain that Canada is too lax on drug use and has become a major source of the illegal marijuana being smuggled into the United States.

Researcher Michael Tjepkema said the increase may reflect a willingness of people to talk more openly about drug use, but the findings are in line with those of other studies that showed pot smoking was on the increase.

More than 41 percent of Canadians admit having used cannabis at least once in their lifetime. Of those who admitted using it in 2002, 47.3 percent said they did so less than once a month but nearly 10 percent got high once a day.

Marijuana use was highest in British Columbia and Quebec.

A study last month estimated that British Columbia's illegal marijuana growers produce a crop with a street value of more than C$7 billion ($5.3 billion) annually, with much of the potent "B.C. Bud" destined for export to the United States.

Reference Source 89
July 22, 2004

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