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At the Summit of the Americas in April, Harper acknowledged that the international campaign to stem the drug trade isn’t working, but he flatly rejected decriminalization as one potential solution.

However, the June 18-25 survey by Ipsos Reid found that Canadians are much more willing to entertain the idea.

It found that 66 per cent of people believe that “the possession of marijuana in small amounts” should be “decriminalized so that it no longer carries a penalty or fine.” Another 34 per cent opposed the idea.

Support for decriminalization is strongest in Atlantic Canada (72 per cent) followed by British Columbia, Saskatchewan/Manitoba and Ontario — in all three regions, support for decriminalization runs at 69 per cent.

Opposition to decriminalization is strongest in Alberta, where 42 per cent of people don’t like the idea.

Ipsos Reid president Darrell Bricker said in an interview that the poll results are part of a trend in recent years which has seen support for decriminalization rising.

Ipsos Reid has conducted similar polls on the issue over the past 25 years, and the data reveal that support is considerably higher now than it was in the past. In 1987, just 39 per cent supported decriminalization, rising to 55 per cent in 2003.

“It’s all about tolerance,” he said. “There’s a general trend in Canadian values and it’s really about, ‘Live and let live. Don’t tell me how to live my life. If you’re different from me, that’s OK. It’s my job to learn how to tolerate that.’”