Canadians approve of drug tests at work if marijuana is legalized

According to a new poll, most Canadians are in favour of marijuana becoming legal, but think job sites should test for it regularly.

Insights West found, in a recent online survey, that 62 per cent of Canadians support legalization, while 31 per cent are opposed.

Over 90 per cent of regular and casual marijuana users are in favour of legalization, while support is lower among “one-time” users, at 70 per cent, and Canadians who have never used marijuana, at 49 per cent.

When it comes to policy options, 37 per cent of Canadians said they would legalize marijuana, while 32 per cent would keep it available “for medicinal purposes only”, and 18 per cent would decriminalize it.

If it’s legalized, a total of 62 per cent of those surveyed said they think Canadian companies should be able to administer drug tests to any employee at any time.

Support is even higher, at 84 per cent, for allowing police to arrest drivers suspected of being impaired by marijuana and administer a blood test.

Of Canadians who said they have never tried marijuana, less than 10 per cent said they would be “very likely” or “somewhat likely” to try cannabis if it’s legal.

“We saw a similar situation in Washington State, where only one-in-twenty adults tried marijuana for the first time after Initiative 502 came into law,” said Mario Canseco from Insights West.

Most people in Canada said they get marijuana “from a friend,” while 14 per cent rely on a dispensary and 4 per cent grow it themselves.

More than half of regular and casual marijuana users said they would change over to get marijuana from a licensed store if legal.

Canadians are divided on the best possible way to legally sell marijuana, with more than a third (36 per cent) favouring stand-alone facilities for selling marijuana and related products, 29 per cent hoping to see cannabis in drugstores and pharmacies, and 16 per cent choosing liquor stores.