VANCOUVER — Nearly two-thirds of British Columbians support legalizing marijuana, according to a new poll.

The latest survey from Insights West found that 65 per cent of respondents across the country and 62 per cent in B.C. “strongly support” or “somewhat support” the idea when asked, “Given what you know, do you support or oppose the legalization of marijuana in Canada?” Support was even across all age groups.

Support was highest among regular pot users (98 per cent) and those who smoke on a casual basis (96 per cent), but even people who have never tried weed favour legalization by a slim majority (51 per cent).

Support was lowest among people who plan to vote for the Conservatives in the upcoming election (42 per cent), but 83 per cent of intended NDP voters and 72 per cent of Liberal Party supporters said they’d like to see legal pot.

The pollsters also asked those surveyed about the potential reasons for support a change in the drug laws: “Regardless of how you feel about marijuana legalization, there are a number of arguments in favour of legalization. Listed below are some of these arguments. Please state your level of agreement with each.”

A whooping 85 per cent of respondents said they believe pot has legitimate health benefits, 76 per cent agreed that taxing pot would bring in significant revenue for Canadians, and 70 per cent thought it would allow police to focus on other priorities.

The complete results of the poll are available online here.

The poll was conducted online from Sept. 14 to 21 among a sample of 952 people. Insights West claims a margin of error of +/- 3.2 percentage points.

Blindsay@vancouversun.com

Twitter.com/bethanylindsay