Vancouver – Residents of Canada and the United States are supportive of several measures to curb the opioid crisis, a new two-country Research Co. poll has found.
In the online survey of representative national samples, two-in-five Canadians (39%) and more than half of Americans (53%) describe the current situation related to the use of prescription and non-prescription opioid drugs in their community as “a major problem.”
When asked about specific ideas to address the opioid crisis, more than four-in-ten respondents in the two countries (84% in Canada and 86% in the United States) agree with launching more education and awareness campaigns about drug use.
Support is also particularly high for creating more spaces for drug rehabilitation (78% in Canada and 81% in Canada), reducing the prescription of opioids by medical professionals (73% in Canada and 76% in the United States), and establishing “safe supply” programs where alternatives to opioids can be prescribed by health professionals (70% in Canada and 78% in the United States).
Three-in-five respondents (59% in Canada and 60% in the United States) agree with setting up more “harm reduction” strategies, such as legal supervised injection sites.
The notion of decriminalizing all drugs for personal use is more contentious. In Canada, 53% of respondents disagree with this idea, while 34% are in favour of it and 14% are not sure.
In the United States, 47% of respondents agree with decriminalizing all drugs for personal use, while 43% disagree and 10% are undecided.
Across North America, the decriminalization of all drugs for personal use is more popular with men (36% in Canada and 61% in the United States) and respondents aged 35-to-54 (37% in Canada and 69% in the United States).
Click here to download the release (PDF).
Click here to access the Canadian data tables.
Click here to access the American data tables.
