Almost Half of Canadians Will Try Marijuana Edibles Once Legal, 68% Support Legalization
A new study shows that a large number of Canadians plan to try marijuana edibles once the nation legalizes cannabis, and an even higher number is in favor of legalization.
The study, conducted at Dalhousie University, found that 46% of Canadians would try cannabis-infused food products if they became available on the market. 39% would be willing to try it in a restaurant, and 20% said that they know enough about cooking with marijuana to do it at home.
The preliminary study, entitled Cannabis-infused food and Canadian consumers’ willingness to consider recreational marijuana as a food ingredient was led by Dr. Sylvain Charlebois, professor in food distribution and policy at the Faculty of Management at Dalhousie University, and lead author of the well-known Canada’s Food Price Report. Dr. Simon Somogyi, associate professor in the Faculty of Agriculture at Dalhousie, co-authored the study. A total of 1087 people took part in the survey, conducted in English and French over four weeks in August 2017.
The survey shows that the majority of Canadians (68%) are supportive of legalizing marijuana for recreational purposes, with British Columbians being the most supportive (79%) and people on the Prairies being the least (54%).
“People are interested in cooking with marijuana, but they don’t yet know how,” says Sylvain Charlebois. “However, younger people and those from higher income households are more likely to feel confident in their abilities.” Baked goods, oils and spices are among the products survey respondents said they’d be interested in trying.
In April the Canadian government released their plan to legalize the possession, use and distribution of cannabis (through licensed cannabis outlets and through online delivery) for those 18 and older by 2018.