In a new survey, published in the Journal of Cannabis Research, respondents from the United States and Canada expressed strong support for legalizing cannabis. Just under half of the people in each country said that they consumed cannabis. The two countries’ trends are very similar, despite the fact that Canada has legalized cannabis federally and the U.S. doesn’t.
The eight-page document, “Comparison between perceptions of cannabis and edibles in Canada and the USA,” analyzes data collected from 1,047 Canadians and 1,037 U.S. citizens. The four-author team of researchers wrote that “the analysis and findings evolved in to 4 themes”: “acceptance, consumption, normalization and edibles.”
In the study, it was found that American and Canadian respondents reported similar rates of cannabis consumption. 45 percent of Canadians consumed cannabis and 42 percent of Americans. One third of Americans who consume marijuana use it daily. About one fourth of Canadians are daily users.
The report states that U.S. customers “are less likely than Canadians to purchase products from legal sources”, which is probably due to the fact adult-use marijuana remains illegal in most U.S. States. “This may encourage some recreational consumers to look for products from illicit sources.”
The attitudes of respondents in the United States and Canada toward legalizing marijuana were also similar. 78 percent of Canadians said they strongly agreed or agreed that cannabis should be legalized.
In terms of local regulation, the majority of Canadians (56%) said that they were either in agreement or strongly in agreement with the fact that municipalities should not be allowed to ban retail marijuana within their borders. The authors note “that this was a complete reversal from sentiments prior to legalization.”
In the U.S., only a minority of respondents opposed local authority’s ban on retail. Meanwhile, 44 percent said they strongly agreed that bans shouldn’t be allowed.
The authors conclude that “Consumers now perceive cannabis as a more mainstream product in North America.” “Yet one of the barriers to success is the lack of understanding and knowledge about cannabis among most people, apart from the regulatory restrictions.” This report shows that cannabis users and the “canna-curious” have a strong desire to learn more about this plant and its phytochemicals and how they may improve their mental and physical health.
They added that the findings “challenge notions that a country needs to legalize cannabis at the federal level in order to change the way it is perceived by society,” given that Canada has legalized marijuana across the board in 2018, but the U.S. continues classifying cannabis as a restricted substance.
Researchers also noted that Canadians are less hesitant than their American counterparts to publicly acknowledge cannabis consumption. They’re also more relaxed now than when legalization first began.
The report states that “Fewer Canadians are concerned about other people knowing they use cannabis, or do not care if others consume it than in October 2018 when cannabis became legalized.”
In both Canada and the U.S., the most popular cannabis products are cured cannabis flowers. Just under half (47.4%) of Canadians (45.2%) and Americans (47.2%) prefer this format. In both countries, edibles and drinks were second in popularity.
Concentrates for vaping were preferred by American consumers, who ranked them at 8.9 per cent compared to the 7.2 per cent in the U.S. Dabbable concentrated products, such as hash and shatter were the least preferred product type, ranking at just 1.8 per cent in the U.S.
A subset of Canadian and American consumers reported an increase in marijuana use in the COVID-19 pandemic. 14 percent of Canadians and 16 percent Americans reported increased use.
Participants were asked whether they intended to increase their consumption of marijuana edibles as part of a survey administered mid-2021. The report states that respondents maintain they plan to increase their use, and edibles are attracting an increasing level of interest. The report says that 21 percent of American respondents said they intended to buy more edibles.
In both countries, fewer than 3 out of 10 consumers do not consume edibles.
The study was written by a number of Canadian institutions, including Dalhousie University, Halifax, SCS Consulting in Toronto, the Agri-Food Analytics Lab of Dalhousie University, and the University of British Columbia.
A recent study from Canada showed that in the recent years there was a decline in the percentage of high school students saying marijuana is easy to get.
In the meantime, a recent American study conducted by the University of Michigan and funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse concluded that teenage cannabis use remained largely unchanged after states legalized the substance.
The report revealed that cannabis usage rates for the past year “remained stable” for all three grade levels surveyed, remaining below prepandemic levels despite more states opening and expanding their adult marijuana markets.
The studies are part of a growing academic literature on marijuana. A recent NORML analysis concluded that researchers published over 32,000 scientific articles on marijuana in the last 10 years, including over 4,000 papers in 2023.
Cannabis Can Prevent and Reduce COVID-19 Severity, while Treating Long-Term symptoms, Study Finds
The post Marijuana Study Comparing U.S. and Canada Finds Broad Support for Legalization And Similar Use Rates, Despite Differing Policies first appeared on Marijuana Minute.
