Majority of Ontarians support legalized pot, but say LCBO not the right way to sell it

[Smoke rises as people smoke marijuana during an annual 4/20 rally on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Canada, April 20, 2016 / REUTERS/Chris Wattie]

The federal government’s plan to legalize marijuana is a move the majority of Ontarians can get behind, a new poll says.

Forum Research found that 56 per cent of Ontario voters surveyed approve of the promise made by the Trudeau government to legalize the drug. That’s a clear majority over the 36 per cent found to be opposed to legalization, while a remaining seven per cent were found to have no opinion on the matter.

What’s more is that nearly a quarter of those asked said they will use marijuana in the next year if it were legalized.

While the government has announced it will introduce legalization legislation in the spring of 2017, exactly where Ontario residents will be able to purchase cannabis is still remains to be seen.

Only 38 per cent of those surveyed were in favour of marijuana being sold through Ontario’s provincial alcohol retailer the LCBO, where Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne would like to see marijuana distributed. Just over half of respondents said they would like to see marijuana sold in specialized dispensaries or at drug stores.

The LCBO option has been argued by some as already having a secure distribution network, and also being better equipped at preventing underage Canadian’s from accessing pot, reports The National Post.

But while government officials try to figure out how Canadians can access marijuana, pot shops operating in a legal grey zone are surfacing all across Canada. In response, city officials and police in both Vancouver and Toronto have vowed to start cracking down on the budding businesses in an effort to bring some order to the current system.

The poll, which was conducted on April 25, surveyed 1,157 randomly selected Ontarians over the age of 18 and has a margin of error of plus or minus three per cent, 19 times out of 20.