Poll: Majority of New Jersey Residents Smell Cannabis In Public; Most Unbothered By It

In a Stockton University poll, a majority of New Jersey adults – 57% – reported smelling cannabis in public spaces often (28%) or sometimes (29%) with another 32% saying they smell cannabis rarely, and 9% saying they have never smelled cannabis in public. 

A majority of the respondents – 52% – though, said they are not bothered by the smell, while 19% said the odor bothers them a great deal and 28% said it bothers them slightly.    

In a statement, John Froonjian, director of the William J. Hughes Center for Public Policy at Stockton University, which conducted the poll, noted that “Not much thought was given to the issue of the smell of marijuana becoming part of the public landscape in New Jersey.”   

“There are hardly any places to legally consume these products, so people are lighting up in parks, at festivals, in parking lots and on the street.” — Froonijian in a statement 

Last year, New Jersey regulators approved rules for cannabis consumption lounges; however, few have opened. 

About 29% of poll respondents said they have smelled cannabis coming from a a neighboring house or apartment often (14%) or sometimes (15%), with 21% saying they rarely smell it at home and 49% said they never do. Another 31% of those polled said they believe that the right to smoke cannabis in your own home should take precedence over not creating an odor for your neighbors, while 16% said residents not having to smell it from neighbors is most important. 

The majority of respondents (56%) said they did not know anyone who had driven while under the influence of cannabis, while 39% said they had; however, fewer residents (51%) said driving while under the influence of cannabis was extremely dangerous, compared to 90% who said the same for driving under the influence of alcohol. The poll found 73% of respondents said it is either very important (46%) or somewhat important (27%) to them to have a roadside test that can determine a person’s level of impairment from cannabis, with 10% saying it is not very important and 13% saying it is not at all important (13%) to develop such a test.