Marijuana Study Comparing U.S. And Canada Finds Broad Legalization Support And Similar Use Rates Despite Differing National Policies

A new survey published in the Journal of Cannabis Research found strong majority support for legal cannabis among respondents from both the United States and Canada, along with just under half of people in both countries saying that they consume cannabis. The trends were overall very similar between the two nations even as Canada has federal cannabis legalization and the U.S. does not.

The eight-page paper, “Comparison of perceptions in Canada and USA regarding cannabis and edibles,” examines data from surveys of 1,047 Canadian and 1,037 U.S. residents. “The analysis and findings evolved into 4 themes,” wrote the four-author research team: “acceptance and consumption, normalization, edibles, and education.”

The study found that usage rates between American and Canadian respondents were largely similar, with 45 percent of Canadians and 42 percent of Americans reporting they consume cannabis. Of those who currently consume, roughly 1 in 3 in the U.S. use marijuana daily, while about 1 in 4 Canadian consumers were daily users.

The report notes, however, that U.S. consumers “are less likely to purchase from legal sources than Canadians,” which they say is likely attributable to the fact that adult-use cannabis remains prohibited in most U.S. states, “and this may encourage a portion of recreational consumers to seek products from illicit sources.”

Attitudes toward marijuana legalization also were similar between respondents from the two countries, with 78…