33% of Canada’s Cannabis Market Controlled by Illegal Dealers, Says Federal Memo

33% of Canada’s Cannabis Market Controlled by Illegal Dealers, Says Federal Memo
A marijuana plant in Vancouver on Oct. 17, 2018. Don MacKinnon /AFP/Getty Images
|Updated:
0:00

About one-third of Canada’s cannabis market is still controlled by illegal dealers despite the federal government legalizing its recreational use in 2018, according to a report.

“One of the main goals of legalization of cannabis was to reduce criminal activity by keeping profits out of the pockets of criminals. The illicit drug trade provides organized crime with one of its most financially lucrative criminal markets,” wrote the Department of Public Safety in an October 2022 briefing note obtained by Blacklock’s Reporter.