More than Half Approve of the Sale of Marijuana Edibles

| Filed under: Ontario
CC Image courtesy of Arianna Silva: http://bit.ly/2DlsLTp

More than Half Approve of the Sale of Marijuana Edibles

Toronto, January 16th – In a random sampling of public opinion taken by The Forum Poll™ among 1022 Ontario voters, more than half (52%) say they approve of the sale of marijuana or cannabis edibles such as cookies, bars, or drinks, with just over a third (37%) saying they disapprove.

1 in 10 (11%) say they do not know.

Support for marijuana edibles is up since we last tested it in December 2015, with approval for edibles up 6 points, from (Dec 2015: 46%) and disapproval down 6 points (Dec 2015: 43%).

Those that say they do not know are mostly unchanged, down 1 point (Dec 2015: 1%).

Respondents most likely to support the sale of marijuana edibles include those aged 34 and younger (72%), earning $80,000-$100,000 (63%), with some college/university (55%) or a college/university (52%) or post-graduate degree (52%), living in Toronto (56%) or Northeastern Ontario (57%), and supporting the NDP (66%).

Respondents most likely to disapprove of the sale of marijuana edibles include those aged 65+ (56%), earning $20,000-$40,000 (37%) or $40,000-$60,000 (40%), the least educated (43%), living in the 905 (46%), and supporting the PCs (49%)

Almost 9 in 10 (TOP2: 88%) of marijuana consumers would approve of the sale of marijuana edibles.

Where should they be legally consumed? In private, according to the plurality

When asked where should is the primary place legal marijuana or cannabis edibles should be consumed, a third (34%) said in private only.

One-sixth (18%) said they should be allowed in designated public areas, another sixth (16%) said they should be allowed in licensed lounges, and just under one-sixth (14%) said they do not know the primary place that edibles should be allowed to be consumed.

Just over 1 in 10 (13%) said they should be allowed in public, and few (5%) thought they should be allowed in a confined area at festivals or events.

Anywhere in public (30%) was the primary choice of the plurality of marijuana consumers, just ahead of designated public locations (25%). 

Licensed edibles lounges opinion split, but leaning toward disapproval

When asked if they would approve or disapprove of licensed lounges where marijuana or cannabis edible products could be legally consumed, almost half (BTM2: 45%) said they disapproved, with a third (34%) saying they disapproved strongly.

Just under 4 in 10 (TOP2: 38%) said they would approve of this type of licensed lounge, but only one-sixth (17%) said they approved strongly.

One-sixth (14%) said the neither approve, nor disapprove, while few (3%) said they do not know.

Marijuana consumers (TOP2: 63%) strongly support the idea of licensed lounges where edible marijuana or cannabis products could be consumed legally.

Respondents most likely to say they disapprove of licensed edible lounges include those aged 65+ (61%), earning $40,000-$60,000 (50%), with some college/university (45%) or a college/university (47%) or post-graduate (45%) degree, living in the 905 (53%), and supporting the PCs (55%).

Respondents most likely to say they approve of licensed edible lounges include those aged 34 and younger (56%), males (40%), earning $80,000-$100,000 (45%), the least educated (37%) or with some college/university (39%) or a college/university (39%) degree, living in Toronto (51%), and supporting the Liberals (47%) or NDP (44%).

Half say they would support designated marijuana smoking areas at festivals or events

Half of respondents (TOP2: 50%) say they would support the consumption of non-edible marijuana or cannabis, such as smoking or vaping, in a confined area at festivals or events, with a quarter (27%) saying they approve strongly.

A third (BTM2: 31%) say they would disapprove, but a quarter (24%) say they disapprove strongly.

One-sixth (16%) say that they neither approve nor disapprove, and few (4%) say they do not know.

8 in 10 (TOP2: 81%) marijuana consumers would approve of a designated confined location for the smoking or vaping of marijuana or cannabis at festivals or events.

Almost half okay with marijuana sales at festivals or events

Almost half (TOP2: 47%) of respondents say they would support the sale of marijuana or cannabis alongside alcohol at festivals or events, with a quarter (27%) saying they would support strongly.

 4 in 10 (BTM2: 38%) say they would oppose the sale of marijuana or cannabis alongside alcohol at festivals or events, with a third (30%) saying they would oppose strongly.

A strong proportion (TOP2: 79%) of marijuana consumers would approve of the sale of marijuana or cannabis at festivals or events.

Respondents most likely to say they would approve include those aged 34 and younger (59%), males (53%), the most wealthy (54%), with some college/university (52%) or a college/university degree (50%), living in Toronto (53%) or Northeastern Ontario (52%), and supporting the NDP (61%).

Respondents most likely to say they would disapprove include those aged 65+ (49%), females (41%), earning $40,000-$60,000 (39%) or $60,000-$80,000 (36%), with a post-graduate degree (47%), living in the 905 (46%), and supporting the PCs (46%).

One-quarter say they have consumed cannabis or marijuana in the past year

One-quarter (23%) say they have consumed cannabis or marijuana in the past year, with three quarters (77%) saying they have not.

Respondents most likely to say they have consumed in the past year include those aged 34 and younger (41%), the least wealthy (30%) or earning $20,000-$40,000 (32%), with some college/university (30%), living in Toronto (27%), and supporting the NDP (40%)

Use of marijuana over the past year is up slightly from past surveys, with (5%) more saying they’ve used cannabis or marijuana than in September (Sept 28: 18%)

 

“The opinions of Ontarians on edible marijuana has softened somewhat, perhaps in response to legalization in general," said Dr. Lorne Bozinoff, President of Forum Research. “It’s interesting though, that while half approve of edibles in general, far fewer would support licensing lounges where these edibles could be legally consumed." 

 

Lorne Bozinoff, Ph.D. is the president and founder of Forum Research. He can be reached at lbozinoff@forumresearch.com or at (416) 960-9603.