Purchases to satisfy high shopping hankerings, amounting to an estimated $1 billion, ranged from food to shoes and more weed

Getting high can be rough on the wallet, with a new report from Finder Canada revealing an estimated $1 billion is contributed to the Canadian economy through fuzzy shopping sprees while under the influence.

According to Finder’s research, one in five Canadians have shopped while stoned at least once in their lives, spending an average of $187. Breaking the numbers down by province, high shopping in B.C. took the top spot for average spend, letting it rain to the tune of $390. Nova Scotians ($279), Quebecers ($236), Albertans ($143), Ontarians ($114) and Manitobans ($88) followed, notes the new report, Doped up: Canada has a high shopping problem.

Some of the most common purchases while high are predictable. Food was bought by 60 per cent of respondents, clothing and shoes by 27 per cent, and cigarettes and more weed by 23 per cent. But there are also worrisome purchases being made that might prove problematic beyond a grease-induced upset stomach, realizing your closet is too small or a lingering cigarette smell.

Buyer’s remorse may kick in when discovering that last night’s adventures resulted in more expensive forays, including gambling, reported by 17 per cent, buying other narcotics at 10 per cent and furniture (?) at six per cent. Perhaps most head-shaking, though, was the five per cent of Canadians who thought it was a great idea to buy pets.

“It was pretty surprising to see that five per cent of Canadians admitted to buying a pet while high, something people tend to view as a pretty big responsibility,” William Eve, country manager at Finder.com, notes in an email response to The GrowthOp.

With this being Finder Canada’s first report on high shopping for the country, it has no “apples to apples comparisons” to see how things are changing, Eve says, but adds it’s a topic the company plans to revisit in future. “We suspect Canadians attitudes and behaviours toward cannabis are going to continue to evolve based on wider availability and variety post-legalization, along with the current stay-at-home directive.”

The report indicates both gender and generational divides. For instance, 23 per cent of men have made purchases while stoned compared to just 14 per cent of women.

Perhaps less surprising, five per cent of men bought a car or a motorbike compared to zero for women. And four per cent of men compared to one per cent of women booked a flight to a different city.

With regard to the generational divide, 28 per cent of Gen Z and 36 per cent of Gen Y respondents bought while high compared to 14 per cent of Gen Xers and seven per cent of Baby Boomers. The pattern held for money spent, with Millennials averaging $247 and Gen Zers averaging $224. Baby Boomers were left in the dust at an average of $64.

“Ordering a pizza or buying a few snacks at the corner store while high won’t break the bank,” Eve says in a statement. “What Canadians should really focus on avoiding are those big-ticket purchases.”

So what would Eve recommend to tamp down any high shopping excesses? “The easiest thing to do before getting high is to hide your credit card and ensure the data is not saved in digital form on your laptop or mobile,” he told The GrowthOp.

“Beyond that, tap into the ‘buddy system,’” he suggested. “Asking a friend may make you think twice before buying anything with a hefty price tag, or a heartbeat for that matter.”

Finder.com, a global comparison site, commissioned PureProfile to conduct the survey of 1,213 Canadian adults last October. NWT, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nunavut, PEI and Yukon were not included in the geographic breakdown because of a lack of responses.

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