High Season: How Legalization Is Rewriting Cannabis Tourism
An overview of cannabis tourism in Canada, including sales data, tax revenue, regulatory frameworks, and current evidence on public health outcomes such as opioid use.
Since the legalization of non-medical cannabis in 2018, Canada has developed the world’s first nationally regulated adult-use cannabis market. This regulatory framework has implications not only for domestic consumers but also for visitors to Canada. Cannabis tourism—defined as travel motivated partly or wholly by the availability of legal cannabis products or experiences—has become a growing component of the visitor economy in several provinces.
This briefing provides an overview of the economic contributions of cannabis sales, the impact on public revenues, the state of tourism-related cannabis infrastructure, and the current research on public health outcomes, including opioid use trends.
Economic Contributions
Retail sales: Canada’s regulated cannabis retail sector recorded approximately C$5.39 billion in sales in 2024, representing continued moderate growth into 2025.
Federal duties: Federal cannabis excise duties totaled approximately C$244 million in fiscal year 2023–24, an increase of 7.5% compared with the previous year.
Provincial revenues: Provincial cannabis authorities reported billions in annual sales with positive net income, supporting reinvestment into public services.
Industry impact: Since legalization, the cannabis sector has contributed more than C$76 billion to Canada’s GDP and supports approximately 100,000 jobs annually across cultivation, retail, logistics, and ancillary services.
These figures indicate that cannabis is now a permanent contributor to Canada’s formal economy, including the visitor economy in areas with high tourist activity.
Tourism and Market Accessibility
The degree to which visitors engage in cannabis-related activities varies by province due to differences in retail and consumption regulations:
Retail access: Ontario and Alberta operate private retail systems with high store density, including outlets in tourist corridors. Other provinces, such as Québec, operate under a government-run model with fewer outlets and more limited product variety.
Consumption spaces: Canada currently has limited legal frameworks for permanent on-site consumption (lounges, cafés, etc.). Most provinces restrict cannabis consumption to private residences, with some event-based exemptions. This creates challenges for tourists who may purchase cannabis legally but lack clear options for legal consumption.
Events and festivals: Temporary permits for cannabis use at designated events have been tested in some provinces, but permanent visitor-oriented venues remain rare.
International examples (e.g., Nevada, Colorado) suggest that where on-site consumption is permitted under regulated conditions, visitor spending increases and consumption moves into safer, controlled environments.
Public Health Evidence
The relationship between cannabis legalization and opioid use remains an area of active research. Current findings are mixed:
Prescribing patterns: Some Canadian studies indicate a decline in opioid prescribing rates following recreational cannabis legalization, particularly among certain patient populations.
Mortality outcomes: Evidence on opioid-related mortality is less conclusive. While certain U.S. studies suggest possible reductions in synthetic-opioid deaths following recreational legalization, broader analyses find no consistent nationwide decrease in overall opioid mortality.
Emergency department trends: Canadian hospitals have reported increases in cannabis-related emergency visits post-legalization, including among young adults, underscoring the need for ongoing public health education and safe consumption messaging.
Overall, current research does not support definitive claims that legalization reduces opioid-related deaths. However, there is some evidence of reduced prescription opioid use, suggesting a potential substitution effect for certain populations.
Key Considerations for Cannabis Tourism Policy
Retail availability: Store density and accessibility in high-traffic tourism areas contribute to visitor engagement with the legal market.
On-site consumption: Lack of legal consumption venues remains a barrier for tourism. Consideration of regulated lounges, particularly for non-smoked formats, could align with harm-reduction objectives.
Taxation and reinvestment: Cannabis duties and provincial revenues represent a growing fiscal base. Visible reinvestment into public health, safety, and visitor services could strengthen tourism outcomes.
Public health safeguards: Continued monitoring of emergency department presentations, impaired driving, and youth exposures remains essential. Public education on dosing, onset times, and legal consumption locations is recommended.
Opioid outcomes: While substitution effects may exist in some cohorts, broader opioid mortality impacts remain uncertain and should not be overstated in tourism promotion.
Conclusion
Cannabis legalization has established Canada as a global leader in regulated cannabis markets. Economic data confirm that the industry contributes significantly to GDP, jobs, and public revenues. For tourism, however, the regulatory environment remains uneven: while retail outlets are widely available, the absence of permanent consumption venues limits the sector’s integration into mainstream visitor offerings.
As provinces refine their frameworks, policies that balance accessibility, public health, and visitor experience will determine the extent to which cannabis tourism contributes to Canada’s broader tourism economy.
