Interrupted time series analysis of Canadian legal cannabis sales during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Michael J ArmstrongNathan CantorBrendan T SmithRebecca JessemanErin HobinDaniel Thomas MyranPublished in: Drug and alcohol review (2022)
Increasing cannabis sales during the pandemic was consistent with pre-existing trends and increasing store numbers. The extra increased growth was more aligned with January's new product arrivals than with March's pandemic measures, though the latter cannot be ruled out. We found little evidence of pandemic impacts on Canada's aggregate legal cannabis sales. We therefore caution against attributing increased population-level cannabis use or health impacts primarily to the pandemic.