Canadians favour pot legalization, curious about weed edibles: survey

Canadians appear to have an appetite for marijuanainfused munchies, according to a new survey that found a healthy majority both supported the legalization of recreational pot use but had clear concerns about children’s access to edible products containing cannabis.

The poll by researchers at Dalhousie University in Halifax found that about 68 per cent of people across the country favour the impending legalization of pot, with the bulk of that support in B.C. and Ontario.

Just over 45 per cent said they would buy food containing marijuana, with 46 per cent saying they would purchase pot-laced baked goods like brownies and muffins if they were legal.

However, more than half of those surveyed said they had overarching concerns about the potential harms to children who may be drawn to gummy candies, cookies and other confections containing the psychoactive chemical. In B.C., for example, about 81 per cent of those surveyed expressed concern over increased access to pot by young adults.

“The risk element around children was quite high at 58.5 per cent, so there seems to be a bit of paradox out there,” said Sylvain Charlebois, a professor of food distribution and policy at Dalhousie who co-authored the report released Tuesday. “On the one hand, people are willing to accept the legalization of non-medicinal marijuana but at the same time they do recognize societal risks related to doing so.”

The aim of the survey, done over four weeks in August, was to gauge Canadians’ perception of recreational marijuana as a food ingredient when it is legalized next July, if they would use it in their diet and, if so, how they would prepare it.

It found that despite people’s apparent willingness to try edible products, the bulk of survey participants indicated they didn’t know how to cook with marijuana at home and most said they did not consider it a healthy ingredient.