A statewide poll of likely voters shows 50 percent support the November ballot question legalizing marijuana in Massachusetts.
Question 4 would allow adults 21 years and older to possess, cultivate and use marijuana. The question also sets up a regulatory structure under a new Cannabis Control Commission.
Forty-five percent in the new WBUR/MassINC poll are opposed to the ballot question. Five percent are undecided or said they don’t know.
The poll of 506 likely voters took place between Sept. 7 and Sept. 10.
The election is Tuesday, Nov. 8.
“Younger people are very much in favor of legalization, and it declines steadily as you move up the age brackets to where you get to voters who are 60-plus, and they’re opposed to it by a 17-point margin,” Steve Koczela, president of the MassINC Polling Group, told WBUR.
Supporters of legalization say the ballot question sets up a strict system that will bring in tax revenue for the state and drive down the black market.
But opponents dismiss the benefits, arguing that marijuana is a gateway to harder substances and noting the black market hasn’t been eliminated in Colorado, which legalized marijuana in 2012.
Eighty percent of respondents in the WBUR/MassINC poll said they did not believe using marijuana is morally wrong. Fourteen percent said it is; six percent said they don’t know or they are undecided.
The poll also showed 48 percent believe “people using marijuana present a public safety hazard,” 43 percent believe it does not.
Asked whether marijuana increases the likelihood of people trying other drugs, 50 percent said it does not, while 43 percent said it does.
They were also asked what they found most harmful to a person’s overall health: 42 percent said tobacco, 19 percent said alcohol, 13 percent said sugar and four percent said marijuana.
Massachusetts voters decriminalized small amounts of marijuana through a 2008 ballot question, and in the same manner legalized medical marijuana in 2012.
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker
Full Article: New WBUR Poll Shows Marijuana Legalization Winning In Massachusetts
Author: Gintautas Dumcius
Contact: MassLive
Photo Credit: AP
Website: MassLive
