(FILES) In this file photo taken on December 5, 2016 a medicinal marijuana bud is viewed inside the flowering room at Tweed in Smith Falls, Ontario.
About 4.9 million Canadians spent a whopping Can$5.7 billion (US$4.6 billion) on cannabis last year, the government's statistical agency said on January 25, 2018.Its production in terms of value is now "on par with the beer industry and larger than the tobacco industry," according to Statistics Canada's estimates.According to Statistics Canada, 90 percent of cannabis purchases last year were for recreational use, while only 10 percent were backed by a doctor's prescription for medical reasons.
/ AFP PHOTO / Lars HagbergLARS HAGBERG/AFP/Getty Images
