A majority of Canadians say the marijuana sector that’s emerged since cannabis was legalized nationwide seven years ago is an “important contributor” to the country’s economy, according to a new poll that also shows that rates of cannabis and nicotine use are now virtually the same.

As Canada grapples with a volatile trade relationships with the U.S., the survey from Abacus Data, which was commissioned by the cannabis company Organigram Global, found that sentiment toward the marijuana economy skews positive.

Canadians seem to recognize the value of the cannabis industry to the country’s overall financial health, with 59 percent describing the sector as an “important contributor” to the economy. That includes 69 percent of recent Liberal voters and 58 percent of recent Conservative voters.

When the research firm and Organigram last asked Canadians that question in April, 57 percent agreed about the importance of the marijuana market relative to the national economy, so this represents a slight increase.

Respondents also voiced support for additional reforms to bolster the market such as expanding regulatory input to include both health and agriculture agencies (47 percent), being more proactive to combat illicit sales (43 percent), lowering taxes or offering tax incentives to marijuana businesses to generate jobs (33 percent) and creating the infrastructure to develop new cannabis product types (31 percent).

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