In a recent survey released by Probe Research and the Winnipeg Free Press, over one-quarter of Manitobans said they have bought or plan to buy cannabis now that it’s legal.
According to the survey data, people between the ages of 18 and 34 are more likely to be cannabis consumers, with 39 per cent of respondents in this age range saying they’ve purchased or plan to purchase cannabis.
Indigenous respondents were also more likely to say they’ve purchased or plan to purchase cannabis, with 43 per cent saying they had already done or would do so compared to 25 per cent of non-Indigenous respondents.
Of the more than 1,000 people surveyed, 71 per cent said they feel legalization has gone either “fairly well” or “very well.”
On the other hand, men and rural residents were more likely to say legalization has gone poorly. Among respondents not based in Winnipeg, 37 per cent expressed dissatisfaction with the legalization process so far.
The top two reasons why respondents felt legalization has not gone well included the belief that cannabis legalization was a “bad idea in the first place” and the concern that legalization could lead to an increased amount of “people driving while impaired.”
Between November 27 and December 6, 2018, Probe Research surveyed a random and representative sampling of 1,105 adults residing in Manitoba.
With a sample of 1,105, Probe Research says with 95 percent certainty that the results are within ± 2.9 percentage points of what they would have been if the entire adult population of Manitoba had been surveyed.