Future of Life in Canada – Climate Change and Legalizing Drugs

A CLIMATE OF CHANGE

On the topic of climate change, the study found that the majority of Canadians (77 per cent) believe that climate change is a real problem for the world today, and 73 per cent agree that climate change is caused by human activity. However, the study did find some significant differences in opinion according to political views, with over 80 per cent agreement among liberals, and over 60 per cent agreement among conservatives.

“In contrast to our findings in America, our data shows that Canadian views on climate change are much less politically polarized,” says Black. “In Canada, the majority of liberals and conservatives agreed that climate change is a real problem and that human activity is to blame.”

The study also found that the majority of Canadians agreed on what’s contributing to climate change, with 75 per cent of Canadians believing that fossil fuel vehicles (e.g. gasoline, diesel) contribute to climate change, 67 per cent agreeing that non-renewable energy (e.g. coal, natural gas) contributes to climate change, and 65 per cent agreeing that air travel contributes to climate change.

According to Badminton, “Climate change is making the non-renewable ‘energy’ industry untenable as a foundation for a sustainable future. We have to shift to an electrified world with power provided by renewables and distributed via global super-grids. And, we need to insist that the companies that got us into this situation use the capital they have amassed to help us move to a new sustainable and renewable energy world.”

Charting New Highs

On the topic of drug legalization, the study found that three-quarters of Canadians (75 per cent) agreed that marijuana should be legal for medical use, with both liberal (81 per cent) and conservative (68 per cent) Canadians remaining in agreement. However, despite legalization under the Cannabis Act, less than half of Canadians (46 per cent) agreed that marijuana should be legal for recreational use.

“Our data shows that most Canadians see merit in having legal access to medical marijuana, but they remain on the fence about whether it should be legal for recreational use,” says Black.

In what may become an emerging frontier for drug legalization, the study also found that almost a third of Canadians (30 per cent) believe that psychedelic mushrooms (psilocybin) should be legal for medical use. This belief was higher among younger Canadians, with 35 per cent of those aged 16 to 29 supporting legalization, and 38 per cent of those aged 30 to 44.

“We’re now seeing an increased amount of research exploring the use of marijuana and psychedelic mushrooms for mental and physical health benefits,” says Badminton. “This has the potential to revolutionize the pharmaceutical industry and realize a future where many health issues can be actively managed using plant medicines.”