Forty per cent of Canadians in a recent survey said they support the notion of legalizing marijuana for recreational use, slightly more than those who said they oppose it.

Deloitte surveyed 5,000 Canadians recently for their views on marijuana, and the results suggest a country that is very much divided on a topic that the federal government is currently trying to clarify the rules on.

The survey was conducted online between March 13 and April 3 among 5,000 adults, 1,000 of whom self-identified as marijuana consumers after having been selected for the survey. There was representation from every province and territory and weights were applied to ensure representativeness by age and gender.

Among respondents, 21 per cent said they “strongly support” the idea of legalized and regulated marijuana for recreational purposes. The same number said they “strongly opposed” it.

However, 19 per cent said they “somewhat support” it while 15 per cent said they “somewhat oppose” the notion. [Read more at CBC News]