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.
