Researcher questions validity of online survey on pot attitudes
SASKATOON Some critics are calling the Saskatchewan government’s survey on recreational pot “misleading” and “invalid” after they discovered it contains information that is contradictory to messages issued by the federal government.
The survey, which has received more than 30,000 responses, indicates that the consumption of cannabis referred to in survey questions “does not include edibles (food products that contain cannabis) as they will not be legalized under federal law.”
However, information on the Government of Canada website indicates products like edibles “would be made available for purchase once appropriate rules for their production and sale are developed.”
In response to an interview request about the inconsistency, the provincial Ministry of Justice provided a prepared statement.
“Our understanding is that edibles are not being legalized by the Federal Government at this time as rules for their production and sale have not been developed. If rules are introduced to permit these products, the province will consider how best to accommodate them,” it stated.
Marc Spooner, a University of Regina professor who ran for the NDP in the 2011 federal election, said the misrepresentation of the federal government’s plan is only one issue with the survey. He said the fact that it’s not limited to Saskatchewan Internet Protocol (IP) addresses means people from across Canada — and potentially other countries — can take the survey.
“It’s very vulnerable to being hacked,” Spooner said. “There’s actually a term for that; it’s called ‘freeping,’ and that’s when a group from a certain viewpoint purposely distorts an online poll or survey.”
Spooner said a recent instance of freeping that captured widespread attention was when the online community decided to choose the name “Boaty McBoatface” for a British research vessel.
“There are many ways they could have constructed this survey to avoid this,” he said of the survey’s potential vulnerabilities. “Right now, as a measure of Saskatchewan’s attitudes, this survey is invalid.”
Spooner said there’s “no way of knowing ” if people completing the survey are Saskatchewan residents and it shouldn’t be used to form public policy in its current form.
When Postmedia News requested a followup interview on these potential vulnerabilities, a statement was again provided instead.
“We would encourage Dr. Spooner or anyone else that has questions or concerns to contact us at cannabisreform@gov.sk.ca,” it stated.
Jessica Playford, an employee at Skunk Funk Smoker’s Emporium in Saskatoon, said the inconsistency between the federal government’s position and the information in the provincial survey could result in confusion.
“How are we going to know what’s going to be happening ... if they’re being told one thing and it’s actually going to be another way?” she said.
“False information is going to be fed through the community like crazy and then people are going to lose faith in the government more than they already have,” she continued.
The survey closes Oct. 6.