Pubdate: Mon, 05 Feb 2018
Source: News, The (New Glasgow, CN NS)
Copyright: 2018 Transcontinental Inc.
Contact:  http://www.ngnews.ca/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3343
Author: Sam Macdonald
Page: A3

MINORITY OF MARITIMERS EXPRESS INTEREST IN LEGAL POT

Although a majority of Atlantic Canadians support the legalization of
marijuana for personal use, not many actually plan on using it
recreationally when it is legal.

According to numbers from Corporate Research Associates (CRA), the
proportion of Atlantic Canadians who plan on at least occasionally
lighting up for fun is about 20 per cent. Ten per cent of respondents
indicated they would "definitely" be occasionally purchasing and using
marijuana, while 10 per cent said they would "probably" be doing so.

Twenty-two per cent of people in Atlantic Canada said they would
"probably not" be purchasing and, at least occasionally, using
marijuana. Approximately 59 per cent responded that they wouldn't, or
that they didn't know.

In Nova Scotia, 10 per cent of respondents gave the response of
"definitely," while nine per cent of respondents said they would
"probably" occasionally purchase and use marijuana.

The number of people who would "probably not" use marijuana on
occasion was 21 in the study, while 58 responded "definitely not."
Three people in the Nova Scotia sample said they didn't know if they
would, or didn't answer.

Don Mills, co-founder of CRA, said the numbers gathered, specifically
in Nova Scotia, are divided into three main districts: mainland Nova
Scotia, the Halifax Regional Municipality and Cape Breton.

"There's really little difference in expected use of marijuana across
the province (in those three districts)," said Mills. "However,
related to age - and not unexpectedly - the younger you are, the more
likely you are to purchase marijuana for recreational use."

Mills said that if Pictou County had an older population, it would
have a slightly lower tendency to purchase marijuana. That was
something that was beyond the scope of his research and that of CRA,
Mills noted, because "we're only doing research now. We're going to
continue to do research over time. The sample size we're using is the
whole province. We're only going to be looking at the big pieces right
now. It's not been broken into municipalities or anything like that."

People from Pictou County and the surrounding area had a mixed
response to the question of recreational marijuana use. Some were
supportive of the idea, while some people responded to an enquiry on
The News Facebook page by simply answering, "nope."

Jamie MacDonald, a resident of Antigonish County, weighed in on the
matter on social media, noting that while he doesn't use marijuana
himself, "it's a step in the right direction."

"I've seen the choice to use the NSLC for distribution was pretty
heavily criticized, understandably, but moving towards legalizing
something, which shouldn't be illegal in the first place is a good
thing. It might be a baby step, but it's a step nonetheless," said
MacDonald.

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[sidebar]

By the numbers

According to CRA, eight in 10 Canadians support the legalization of
marijuana for medical use.

Just over half of Atlantic Canadians (53 per cent) support
legalization of marijuana for personal use.

For the first time since it started being recorded in 2012, a majority
of Atlantic Canadians, at 53 per cent, support the personal use of
marijuana.

The highest amount of support for the legalization of marijuana for
personal use is among 18- to 34-year-olds

https://cra.ca/majority-of-atlantic-canadians-now-support-legalization-of-marijuana-for-personal-use/
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MAP posted-by: Matt