New Jersey residents say the right to use cannabis at home is more important than the right not to smell neighbors using it, a survey shows

More than a year after cannabis was legalized in New Jersey, people say they notice the smell of cannabis — but most aren’t bothered by it, according to a new survey. The survey also shows that far more people believe driving under the influence is “very dangerous” than say the same when they get behind the wheel after consuming marijuana.

About half of adults in the state say they have smelled marijuana coming from a neighboring house or apartment, according to a survey by Stockton University’s Hughes Center for Public Policy. But more respondents said they believe the right to use legal marijuana in their own home is more important (31 percent) than the right not to smell a neighbor’s cannabis use (16 percent).

Almost half of participants (46 percent) said they considered the two rights to be equally important.

Gina Coleman/Weedmaps

Of course, people don’t smell cannabis all the time: 14 percent said they often smelled it from a neighbor, 15 percent said it happened sometimes and 21 percent said it was rare. Another 49 percent said they never smelled their neighbors using cannabis.

Meanwhile, 57 percent of adults in New Jersey said they have smelled marijuana in public places either often (28 percent) or sometimes (29 percent). A third (32 percent) said they rarely smell it in public, while just 9 percent said they never do.

“There hasn’t been much thought about whether the smell of marijuana could become part of the public landscape in New Jersey,” John Froonjian, director of the Hughes Center, said of the survey in a news release Wednesday. “There are hardly any places where you can legally consume these products, so people light up in parks, at festivals, in parking lots and on the streets.”

90 percent of all respondents said they could smell the smell of cannabis. And a majority (52 percent) said it doesn’t bother them at all. Another 19 percent said it bothered them “a lot,” while 28 percent said it bothered them somewhat.

While the new survey provides a snapshot of New Jersey residents’ experiences since legalization, the report is silent on the extent to which residents smelled or were bothered by cannabis before legalization.

Gina Coleman/Weedmaps

Views on some questions differed significantly depending on whether or not a person had used cannabis products in the past year. For example, among respondents, 55 percent believed that the right to use legal marijuana at home was more important than a neighbor’s right not to smell it in their home. Among people who didn’t use marijuana, only 21 percent felt this way.

However, a large majority of both groups – 75 percent of cannabis users and 91 percent of non-users – agreed that driving under the influence is dangerous. And most (52 percent and 81 percent of consumers and non-consumers, respectively) believe it is important to have a road test to determine a driver’s level of impairment.

Developing a roadside drug test was more important to Republicans: 62 percent of them thought it was very important, compared to 42 percent of Democrats and 45 percent of independents.

Of all respondents, 39 percent said they knew someone who had driven under the influence of marijuana and 56 percent said they did not.

Respondents appeared to believe that cannabis was less dangerous than drunk driving. 51 percent of respondents said driving while high in marijuana use was extremely dangerous, while 90 percent said driving under the influence of alcohol was extremely dangerous.

Froonjian said in Stockton’s press release that driving under the influence of any substance “is a bad idea that leads to accidents,” adding that responsible users should “avoid driving while high on weed.”

Meanwhile, the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission this week unveiled a campaign that, among other things, will encourage adults to use cannabis delivery services to reduce the risk of impaired driving.

Commissioner Krista Nash, co-chair of the panel’s Public Engagement and Education Committee, said during a press conference Wednesday that “the safety, health and well-being of all New Jersey residents are members’ top priority – regardless of whether they are cannabis users.” are or.” not.”

Gona Coleman/Weedmaps

Applications were filed last month for delivery service licenses, as well as other types of licenses such as wholesale distribution. Regulators are beginning to prioritize people who will be disproportionately affected by cannabis prohibition enforcement.

Regulators also recently voted to allow THC-containing products such as brownies and edibles, and have proposed allowing dispensaries to partner with research institutions to use real marijuana products in studies.

The state recently awarded $12 million in grants to 48 licensed cannabis operators to help them start and grow their businesses. This is part of an effort to remove barriers to access to the legal industry, particularly for people from communities that have been disproportionately harmed by the drug war.

New Jersey officials also recently announced $5.5 million in marijuana revenue will be available to support a hospital violence intervention grant program.

This article originally appeared on Marijuana Moment.