Researchers at Lakehead University say Canada's public health tracking tools are falling behind a rapidly evolving cannabis market that's increasingly targeting young adults with high-potency, youth-appealing products.
Chelsea Noël
The warning comes after a new study, published in the Substance Abuse Treatment, Prevention, and Policy journal, found that many cannabis products currently available in stores are missing from official tracking systems such as the Canadian Cannabis Survey. The researchers are also calling on Health Canada to enforce standardized labelling on the country's cannabis products to protect public health and improve consumer understanding.
"There's an overwhelming amount of new cannabis products on the market," explained lead researcher and Lakehead Clinical Psychology PhD candidate Chelsea Noël. "New products and modes (how people are using products) are appearing faster than the current surveillance tools can keep up with, creating a much more complex monitoring environment than we've had in the past."
After reviewing the online inventories of 10 large cannabis retailers in Ontario, researchers found that product potencies (THC and CBD concentrations) are often labelled using inconsistent, non-standard units across products.
The findings raise serious concerns for young adults aged 18-25, who are particularly vulnerable and face a higher risk of adverse health effects from frequent, high-potency cannabis use, including accidental overdose and altered brain development.
"Products are labelled so differently in terms of the drug concentration and potency; there is no comparing apples to apples," said Dr. Deborah Scharf, Adjunct Professor of Psychology, Health Sciences, and Education at Lakehead University and Noël's supervisor. "Without consistent and clear labelling, users may not know how much of the drug they're actually taking. Different consumption methods also impact the body differently. For example, eating edibles loses some of the potency, whereas inhalation goes straight to the brain. Current product labels simply don't provide adequate warnings."
The study provides a consolidated resource for healthcare providers, policymakers, and care partners to help cannabis users make safer, more informed choices. It also offers a framework for public health agencies across Canada to update their tracking tools to match what is actually being sold in stores.
Deborah Scharf
This project was funded through a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) Partnership Engage Grant with the Thunder Bay Drug Strategy. The full study can be viewed and downloaded at https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s13011-026-00735-4.
