By Jon Hiltz
Shortly after Canada’s marijuana task force was announced, the government launched an online portal asking the citizens of the north to give their thoughts on how cannabis legislation should fit into Canadian society.
The portal received nearly 30,000 responses between June 30 and August 29.
Dr. Mark Ware is one of the members of the task force. During the recent Lift Expo in Vancouver, Ware revealed some demographic information from the cyberspace census. According to Dr. Ware, 80% of all respondents were cannabis users from both the medical and recreational categories; 73% are male, and 64% are between the ages of 18 and 34.
15% of all surveyed were parents while academics accounted for 11% of the respondents; 8% of the respondents identified themselves as activists. The bulk of the data received for the respondents is still under examination; the survey’s findings will be presented to the federal government at the end of November.
Many of the questions asked where marijuana should be sold — dispensaries, liquor stores, and pharmacies. The survey also asked how medical and recreational marijuana should be differentiated concerning access and availability.
The online survey is one of many ways the government is educating themselves on the repatriation of pot. They are also looking at policy papers a.k.a. speaking with lobbyists from a number of organizations. Some of these organizations are reported to have Canadians’ best interests at heart, while other groups have been accused of being far too concerned with their own interests. However, it can be difficult to distinguish the good guys from the bad guys, as everyone stands to gain significantly in a legal marijuana market.
People in the cannabis industry and pot enthusiasts alike are currently living in a fascinating cannabis petri dish in Canada. We are all watching legislation grow, while political and social experiments involving dispensaries, law-enforcement, and activists unfold. No matter how it gets there, the goal and reward is a comprehensive legal marijuana system where Canadians get the access to the cannabis they have been promised.
