Licensed producers have reported over 2,200 kilograms of lost or stolen cannabis since 2018, according to data provided by Health Canada.
Federal regulations require license holders to report loss or theft of cannabis to police within 24 hours. This may include cannabis that was stolen during a robbery or break and entry, loss or theft in transit, unexplained loss, theft by an employee, or other causes.
Amount of Lost or Stolen Cannabis
An increasing amount of cannabis grown by licensed Canadian producers has been lost or stolen in the past five years, with a significant jump in 2022:
| Year | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
| Total net amounts loss/theft | 1.45 kg | 0.8 kg | 10.55 kg | 79.55 kg | 2127.47 kg |
Source: Health Canada. The data in this report is based on submissions received from October 17, 2018, to December 31, 2022.
To put this in perspective, however, over 4.5 million kg of cannabis has been produced in Canada since legalization.
Lost or Stolen Cannabis Reports
Over 4,400 instances of loss or theft have been reported to various levels of police since 2018, with a notable jump in 2019:
| Year | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
| # of reports (original and any subsequent amendments) | 199 | 889 | 1313 | 1084 | 936 |
Source: Health Canada. The data in this report is based on submissions received from October 17, 2018, to December 31, 2022.
However, while the number of reports has increased and levelled out over the last five years, the number of licensed producers has increased exponentially.
Increased Shipping of Products Could Be Contributing
The rise in lost or stolen cannabis could in part be attributed to the increasing amount of products being shipped around the country.
E-commerce grew at an unprecedented rate during the pandemic. For instance, in December 2020 alone, online sales hit $4.7 billion, indicating a 69.3% year-over-year increase from 2019.
In Health Canada’s annual Canadian Cannabis Survey for 2022, data showed that 11% of Canadians get their cannabis from online retailers, an increase from the prior year. Online sales and shipping are likely to continue to grow in the coming years.