A new Canada-wide study on adult use-cannabis—released a day in advance of legalization’s first anniversary—indicates that respondents believe cannabis to be more socially acceptable than last year. Still, surveyed Canadians wish they were more knowledgeable about the drug.

Canna-curious Canadians are performing online searches and asking family or friends for information about recreational cannabis, per the study, which was performed by Maru/Blue, a national data services and research company. The study was commissioned by FIGR Inc., a Prince Edward Island-based licensed producer.

The survey revealed that about a third of polled Canadians wished they had been provided with more information about cannabis products—and a mere 43 percent responded that they felt more informed about the drug since federal legalization came into force one year ago today.

Fewer than half of all respondents said they felt they were knowledgeable about cannabis and how to consume it.

“Consumer education is imperative to the success of the cannabis industry, and these findings signal an opportunity for the cannabis industry, including cannabis licence-holders, to become a source of education for Canadians,” FIGR Inc. president Harvey Carroll said in a press release. “Cannabis licence-holders are uniquely positioned to ensure greater access to information for our consumers,” Carroll noted.

Cannabis stigma declining

Although Canadians feel starved for adequate information about recreational cannabis, responses indicate the stigma surrounding its consumption is on the decline. Most Canadians (about 60 percent) said they think cannabis is more socially acceptable than it was pre-legalization, and 25 percent believe the drug is now safer since it was legalized last October.

Alberta, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland-Labrador were the most likely to believe in the drug’s social acceptability, and residents of Atlantic provinces like Newfoundland-Labrador and Nova Scotia are most likely to believe cannabis is safer since legalization.

Respondents also said they think the legal industry is having a positive impact in Canada. In all, 60 percent of those surveyed believe the industry has created more jobs for Canadians, with 65 percent of Albertans, Quebecers and Nova Scotians most likely to agree.

“We’re proud to be a part of the economic development that is taking place in Ontario and on the East Coast,” said Carroll. “Currently, 16 percent of Canadians know someone who works in the cannabis industry, but we anticipate that will change in the near future.”

As the second wave of cannabis products—including edibles, beverages, extracts and topicals—become legal (although they won’t hit the shelves until sometime in mid-December at the earliest), forty-five percent of respondents said they felt “prepared for and understand” edibles, and just 35 percent felt ready for beverages and vape pens.

Approximately 25 percent of Canadians said they have previously consumed edibles, and will purchase some when they become available.

“Our survey shows the role consumer education could play in increasing knowledge of and positive sentiment towards recreational cannabis, cannabis use and the cannabis industry,” said Carroll. “We need to continue to identify ways to engage in two-way dialogue and be transparent with consumers, especially as we move into year two of legal recreational cannabis.”