PEI

15% of Islanders likely to buy legal pot, according to poll

Islanders will not be rushing to purchase marijuana when it becomes legal next year, according to a new poll from Corporate Research Associates.

Island results lowest in Atlantic Canada

The poll suggests most Islanders are not likely to buy recreational marijuana. (Canadian Press)

Islanders will not be rushing to purchase marijuana when it becomes legal next year, according to a new poll from Corporate Research Associates.

Reaching 300 people by phone during the month of November, CRA found just 15 per cent of respondents said they would definitely or probably purchase legalized marijuana at least occasionally for personal use.

Rates across Atlantic Canada were generally higher — as high as 23 per cent of those surveyed in Newfoundland and Labrador were likely to purchase.

The margin of error is 5.6 percentage points on P.E.I. and 4.9 percentage points in Newfoundland and Labrador.

CRA CEO Don Mills said the results suggest "the market for marijuana on the Island will be quite modest."

The 2015 tobacco, alcohol and drugs survey from Statistics Canada found that 8.2 per cent of Islanders had used marijuana in the previous year, and 40 per cent had used it in their lifetime.