Whether you call it marijuana, pot, weed or cannabis, you probably have an opinion about legalization as it approaches in Canada.
Tell us what you think about cannabis
Public Health is excited to launch our cannabis survey! This is a short, anonymous, online survey that asks about people’s knowledge, attitudes and use of cannabis products. We are inviting all residents of Wellington County, Dufferin County, and the City of Guelph, ages 16 and up to complete the survey, whether they have used cannabis or not.
Anyone who fills the survey out by June 30 is eligible to win one of five $100 gift cards. You can check out the full contest rules and regulations to learn more.
Public health works to decrease harms from substance use
Public Health is preparing to help people in our community get the information they need to make informed decisions about cannabis use.
As part of that preparation, we want to better understand how local residents:
- Feel about cannabis and its use in the community
- Understand the effects of cannabis
- Use cannabis now
- Plan to use cannabis when it becomes legal
Public Health works to prevent and reduce harms associated with cannabis use— similar to our work with alcohol and tobacco. Having this information will allow us, and other community organizations to build better programs and services to support our local residents. We also plan to repeat the survey in the future so that we can see how people’s cannabis knowledge and behaviours change over time.
Many people ask me if cannabis will actually be legal by July 1, 2018.
We don’t know when exactly cannabis will become legal. The timing still needs to be confirmed by the Government of Canada, and the final bill has not yet been passed. We do know that it won’t be available for purchase by that time. According to federal officials, provinces and territories will likely need two to three months to prepare for retail sales after the bill is passed.
It’s a big societal change to go from an illegal to a legal substance. We want to make sure that we are well prepared to monitor the impact of this change on our community and that we can adapt our programs and services to meet local needs.