Pubdate: Thu, 19 May 2016
Source: Toronto Star (CN ON)
Page: GT1
Copyright: 2016 The Toronto Star
Contact:  http://www.thestar.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/456
Author: David Rider

RESIDENTS' OPINIONS SHIFT ON POT SHOPS

But Forum Research poll finds that almost half are still fine with 
medical marijuana dispensaries

A shrinking but sizable number of Torontonians think the medicinal 
marijuana dispensaries popping up all over the city should be allowed 
to remain open.

A Forum Research poll of 804 Torontonians conducted Monday also found 
most people are hazy on whether the shops, some of which sell pot 
with no prescription required, are legal.

The poll comes as the city of Toronto launches a crackdown on the 
unlicensed dispensaries, with police officers hand-delivering letters 
to the business's landlords warning of possible future "consequences."

Health Canada says only licensed medical marijuana producers can 
distribute pot to medical marijuana users with a doctor's 
prescription. The city of Toronto says those producers can only 
locate in areas zoned for industrial use.

However, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's declaration that marijuana 
will be legalized and regulated for recreational use has created a 
legal grey zone, with some questioning the wisdom of a crackdown when 
there might be a new law by the time any charges go to court.

Asked if the dispensaries should be allowed to remain open, 48 per 
cent of respondents said yes, 36 per cent said no and 17 per cent didn't know.

That approval level is down from late March, when more than half of 
Torontonians - 57 per cent - said the dispensaries should be allowed 
to operate, with 30 per cent saying no and 13 per cent unsure.

Just over three-quarters of respondents agreed with Mayor John Tory 
that marijuana dispensaries need to be regulated to keep them away 
from schools and community centres. Some 16 per cent disagreed and 8 
per cent didn't know.

Just over half of Torontonians agreed with Tory that the 
proliferation of pot shops - the number has surpassed 100 in a matter 
of weeks - is "alarming" while just under one-third disagreed and 16 
per cent didn't know.

"It appears that, while one half still accepts the right of these 
places to dispense their wares, even in their neighbourhoods, the 
majority also accepts that there need to be regulations in place," 
said Lorne Bozinoff, president of Forum Research.

Some marijuana dispensary operators require prescriptions and say 
they are scrupulous about selling their products only to legitimately 
sick people, some of them terminal, who are ill-served by Ottawa's 
bureaucratic mail-based distribution regime.

Forum's interactive voice response telephone survey of randomly 
selected voters is considered accurate plus or minus 4 percentage 
points, 19 times out of 20. Other findings include: Some 42 per cent 
of Torontonians don't know if the dispensaries are legal or not, 
compared to 32 per cent who say they are not legal and 26 per cent 
who say they are.

Almost one-quarter of respondents say there is a pot dispensary in 
their neighbourhood - a percentage that has doubled since a survey in 
late March.

Those most likely to live near a dispensary include younger, 
wealthier downtown residents and people with children. Fewer 
Etobicoke and North York residents report they know of one in their 
neighbourhood. Because that is a subset of total respondents, the 
margin of error is higher.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom