- In Maritimes’ largest cities, one in ten adults have purchased marijuana from a legal vendor since October 17.
- Results uphold previous findings by Corporate Research Associates on consumer interest in legal marijuana.
HALIFAX, NS November 28, 2018: A new survey of marijuana purchasing behaviour in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia confirms what Corporate Research Associates Inc. has anticipated for the past year: that approximately one in ten adult residents would buy marijuana from a legal vendor following the product’s legalization on October 17, 2018.
A pre-legalization CRA survey in the fall of 2017, utilizing a model for determining purchase intentions, suggested that 9 percent of adult New Brunswickers and 10 percent of adult Nova Scotians would buy marijuana from a legal vendor after the legalization date. One year later, CRA’s first research into actual consumer behavior since legalization confirms expectations. The survey of adults in the Maritimes’ four largest cities reveals that 10 percent of Moncton and Fredericton residents, 9 percent of Saint John residents, and 7 percent of Halifax residents have purchased marijuana from a legal vendor since October 17, according to CRA’s Urban Report, a quarterly survey of the region’s four largest cities.
In addition, among those who have not yet made a purchase, 19 percent of Moncton residents, 18 percent of Fredericton residents, 14 percent of Saint John residents, and 20 percent of Halifax residents indicate they would definitely or probably buy marijuana for personal use from a legal vendor in the near future.
“Previous research undertaken by our company related to purchase intentions of marijuana closely mirrors the actual behaviour in major urban markets in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, since marijuana has been legally available for sale,” says Margaret Brigley, President and COO of Corporate Research Associates. “We intend to continue to track marijuana purchase behavior to determine whether or not the market for this product will increase over time.”
Those who have purchased marijuana following legalization are most likely to include younger adults aged 18 to 34. In Fredericton, 28 percent of adults in this age group made a purchase on or after October 17, while in Moncton 26 percent made a purchase, and in Saint John 22 percent did so. In Halifax, only 12 percent of residents aged 18 to 34 purchased marijuana, while nine percent of those aged 35 to 54 did so.
These results are part of the CRA Urban Report, an independent telephone survey consisting of 400 adult residents in Halifax CMA, 400 in Moncton CMA, 400 in Fredericton CA and 300 in Saint John CMA. The survey was conducted from October 22 to November 10, 2018. Overall results are accurate to within ±4.9 percentage points for Halifax, Moncton and Fredericton, and ±5.7 percentage points for Saint John, 95 out of 100 times.
Corporate Research Associates, www.cra.ca, is one of Canada’s leading public opinion and market research companies. Founded in 1978, CRA is dedicated to providing clients with state-of-the-art research and strategic consulting services. Follow us on Twitter @CRAInsight.
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For more information, please contact:
Margaret Brigley, CRA President and COO, at (902) 493-3830
or
Richard Foot, Manager, Urban Report at (902) 493-3826
