2025-06-11 –, BS 3.16 - 60 cap.
The legalization of cannabis aimed to regulate the market, ensure product safety, and reduce illegal sales. However, the persistence of the illicit market raises questions about the competitiveness of the legal framework. This study presents a comparative analysis of cannabis prices, product diversity, and accessibility between the legal and illegal online markets. By examining a dataset of product listings from both sectors, we assess price variations, product availability (flowers, edibles, concentrates, CBD/THC ratios), and purchasing conditions. Our findings highlight key discrepancies in cost structures, consumer preferences, and regulatory barriers that may influence market choices. The study discusses policy implications, particularly whether taxation and regulatory constraints are limiting the legal market’s ability to displace illicit sales. We propose recommendations for balancing public health objectives with economic sustainability to enhance the legal market’s attractiveness and effectiveness in achieving its intended goals.
David Décary-Hétu
Prof. David Décary-Hétu has a Ph.D. in criminology from the Université de Montréal (2013). He first started as a Senior Scientist at the School of Criminal Sciences of the Université de Lausanne before moving to his current position as an Associate Professor at the School of Criminology of the Université de Montréal. The main research interests of Prof. Décary-Hétu focus on the impacts of technology on crime. Through his innovative approach based on big and small data, as well as social network analysis, Prof. Décary-Hétu studies how offenders adopt and use technologies, and how that shapes the regulation of offenses, as well as how researchers can study offenders and offenses. Prof. Décary-Hétu is the Chair of the Darknet and Anonymity Research Centre (DARC) that was funded by the John R. Evans Leaders Funds from the Canada Foundation for Innovation. His team collects and studies data from all types of offenders who use anonymity technologies such as the darkweb, cryptocurrencies and encryption. Prof. Décary-Hétu has received funding from both public and private grantors operating at the local, provincial, federal and international level. He has published in leading academic journals and is invited regularly in the news media to comment on recent events. Prof. Décary-Hétu is involved in many partnerships and initiatives including Open Criminology, the revue Criminologie, the Division of Cybercrime of the American Society of Criminology and the Human-Centric Cybersecurity Partnership.
Catherine Arseneault is a professor at the School of Criminology at the Université de Montréal. Her research focuses on the relationship between drugs and crime, examining both individuals who engage in these behaviors and the services available to them. Her work explores the intersections of substance use, criminal justice interventions, and social policies, with a particular emphasis on evidence-based approaches to treatment and rehabilitation.