One Half Want Pot
Prisoners and Convicts Pardoned
Agreement strongest among youngest, in BC
In a random sampling
of public opinion taken by the Forum Poll™ among 1429 Canadian voters, one half
agree those with criminal records for marijuana possession should be pardoned,
and released if they are in jail (49%). This is especially the case among the
youngest (65%), the least wealthy (often a proxy for youth - 60%), in BC (58%),
among Liberals (54%) and New Democrats (58%) but not so much among
Conservatives (35%). There is agreement among the best educated (post grad -
54%), among those who have used marijuana (67%) and those who use it now (80%)
and among those who would abolish the monarchy (55%).
Just more than a
third do not agree with pardons for simple possession (35%), and one sixth
don’t have an opinion (16%).
“There is a
significant skew in favour of pardoning and releasing convicted or jailed
Canadians, if the crime is possession. This only makes sense, in that, by April
20th next year, marijuana will probably be legal in this country" said Forum Research President, Dr. Lorne Bozinoff.
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.
