Marijuana users likely single, well-educated, study finds
Author: CanWest News Service, National Post (Canada), 03-28-05


A study by Health Canada and the Canadian Executive Council on Addictions surveyed 13,900 Canadians over age 15 by phone between December, 2003, and April, 2004.

Some findings from the Canadian Addiction Survey include: Marijuana users are more likely than non-users to be single, well-educated and earning a decent salary. Married couples, high-school dropouts and low-income earners were the least likely to toke.

Income and education are big predictors of alcohol use in Canada. Canadians without high school diplomas were more often abstainers and former drinkers than those with high incomes. Only 64% of those with little education drank in the past year, compared with 84% of post-secondary and university degree holders.

Low-income Canadians were also less likely to drink: 66% had an alcoholic beverage in the past year, versus almost 89% of high-income earners.

The original study revealed 44.5% of Canadians had tried marijuana. Almost 14% of Canadians had smoked pot in the last year.

More than 11% of Canadians have tried hallucinogens, 10% have tried cocaine, 6% have used speed, 4% have used ecstacy, and less than 1% has tried heroin and inhalants at some point in their lives.

© 2005 H.U.M.A.N.: Hemp Users Medical Access Network - Toronto Medical Marijuana