MARIJUANA USERS LIKELY SINGLE, WELL-EDUCATED, STUDY FINDS

(CNS) 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.