From muggles@hempbc.com Fri Nov 14 13:25:04 1997
Date: Fri, 14 Nov 1997 10:01:43 -0800
From: Cannabis Canada <muggles@hempbc.com>
Reply to: creator@hempbc.com
To: cclist@hempbc.com
Subject: CC: Possession of pot no crime, poll told

Source:  Globe and Mail
Contact: letters@globeandmail.ca
Date:    November 4/97

Possession of pot no crime, poll told

51 per cent say it's okay to toke up

By John Gray

Canada has become a mellow nation where even the middle-aged believe that
smoking marijuana should not be a crime.

With the aging of the generation that proclaimed an extravagant commitment
to sex and drugs and rock 'n roll, 51 per cent of Canadians - a wafer thin
majority - say having the drug should not be a criminal offence.

And when marijuana is intended for health purposes only, an astonishing 83
per cent believe it should be legal.

The majority who now believe marijuana should not be a criminal offence is a
dramatic change from the 39 per cent who held that view just 10 years ago.
The change in attitudes was revealed yesterday in a CTV/Angus Reid poll.

The only age group that remains opposed to the decriminalization of
marijuana is those over 55 - people who were generally older when the
generation that took to marijuana with a vengeance in the 1960s and 1970s.

The 41 per cent of those 55 and older who believe that marijuana smoking
should remain a crime stands in dramatic contrast to the 54 per cent between
the ages of 35 and 54 in favour of legalizing it.

The poll of 1,515 adult Canadians, conducted between Oct. 23 and Oct. 28, is
a rich if not entirely surprising lode of material for anyone studying
public attitudes in the country.

Among those favouring legalization of marijuana were 63 per cent of British
Columbians, 54 per cent of Quebeckers, 51 per cent of Ontarians and 56 per
cent of those uner 35.

Those who remain opposed to marijuana number 55 per cent in Atlantic Canada
and 53 per cent on the Prairies.

Education appears to be one of the significant indicators of attitude. Of
those with less than high-school education, 51 per cent are opposed to the
legalization of marijuana. But 55 per cent of university graduates are in
favour.

  ---------------------------------------------------------------------

CTV/National Angus Reid Group Poll

(c) Angus Reid Group, Inc.
Public Release Date: November 4, 1997

CANADIANS' VIEWS on decriminalizing marijuana smoking

Should Smoking Marijuana Be a Criminal Offense?

Use of Marijuana for Health Purposes Only

This CTV/National Angus Reid Poll was conducted by telephone between
October 23rd and 28th, 1997 among a random and representative cross-section
of 1,515 Canadian adults.

These data were statistically weighted to ensure the sample's regional and
age/sex composition reflects that of the actual Canadian population
according to the 1991 and 1996 Census data.

With a national sample of 1,515, one can say with 95 percent certainty that
the results are within +2.5 percentage points of what they would have been
had the entire adult Canadian population been polled. The margin of error
will be larger within regions and for other sub-groupings of the survey
population.

CANADIANS' VIEWS ON DECRIMINALIZING MARIJUANA SMOKING 

A slim majority (51%) of Canadians now agree that smoking marijuana should
not be a criminal offense, up twelve percentage points since September,
1987 (39%). Under one-half (45%), however, feel that it should be a
criminal offense to smoke marijuana, decreased from a majority holding this
view ten years ago (54%).

Among the minority (45%) of Canadians who feel that smoking marijuana
should be a criminal offense, over seven in ten (71% of the 45%) agree that
it should be legal to use it for health purposes only -- representing a
total of over eight in ten (83%) Canadians who believe that it should not
be a criminal offense to smoke marijuana if used for health purposes only.

These findings emerged from a CTV/National Angus Reid Poll conducted among
a representative cross-section of 1,515 Canadian adults between October
23rd and 28th, 1997.

* British Columbians (63%), males (59%) and younger Canadians aged 18 to 34
(56%) are predominantly more likely to believe that smoking marijuana
should not be a criminal offense.

* Conversely, residents of Atlantic Canada (55%), Alberta (53%) and
Saskatchewan/Manitoba (53%), as well as older Canadians aged 55 and above
(51%) are disproportionately more likely to feel that smoking marijuana
should be a criminal offense.

Smoking marijuana for health purposes only 

Among the minority (45%) of Canadians who feel that smoking marijuana
should be a criminal offense, over seven in ten (71% of the 45%) agree that
it should be legal to use it for health purposes only. Overall, therefore,
a total of over eight in ten (83%) Canadians believe that it should not be
a criminal offense to smoke marijuana if used for health purposes only.

In comparison, under three in ten (27% of 45%) Canadians who feel that it
should be a criminal offense to smoke marijuana maintain this point of view
even if it was only used for health purposes which translates into just
over one in ten (12%) Canadians, overall. (Table 2)

* The subset of Canadians more likely to change their minds and agree that
smoking marijuana should be legal for health purposes only tend to be
residents of Ontario (77%) and the most affluent (78% among those with
annual household incomes of more than $60,000).

* On the other hand, the subset of Canadians more likely to maintain their
view that smoking marijuana should be a criminal offense even if used for
health purposes only include Albertans (38%) and Quebeckers (34%), the
least educated (36% among those without a highschool education) and the
least affluent (35% among those with annual household incomes of less than
$30,000).

See tables: http://www.angusreid.com/pressrel/marijuana_nov1997.htm 
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