An online survey of local residents conducted by Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health shows 36 per cent of people who had not used cannabis in the past year were “likely” to use now that it is legal.
The survey was completed by over 2,700 people, with almost half of respondents from Guelph, while the other half were from Wellington and Dufferin counties.
The survey showed that among current cannabis users, 23 per cent reported using it daily.
Of those who had used cannabis in the past year, 46 per cent agreed that using cannabis daily, or almost daily, can result in problems with memory, learning or decision making, and 22 per cent said they had driven within two hours of using cannabis.
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Of those who reported using cannabis in the past year, only 61 per cent thought using it while pregnant can harm their baby. Public Health said, like alcohol, no amount of cannabis is safe while pregnant.
Less than half of respondents were aware of the delayed onset of edibles, which can take 30 minutes to two hours or more to produce any effect, but over half of them expressed interest in trying them once legal.
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The survey results helped Public Health for their information campaign that was launched earlier this week.
The full results of the survey will be released in an upcoming report to the board of health.