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Poll: Florida Voters Are Ready For Medical Marijuana
May 6, 2014
Florida appears ready for medical marijuana.
A poll released Monday shows that 88 percent of Florida voters support allowing adults to legally use marijuana for medical purposes, bolstering the arguments of advocates who have placed a constitutional amendment on the November ballot seeking legalization.
The poll, conducted by Quinnipiac University, indicates widespread support across political and demographic lines — Republicans and Democrats, men and women, young and old — for legal medical marijuana if it is prescribed by physicians. The constitutional amendment needs approval from 60 percent of voters to pass.
“If Vegas were giving odds on medical marijuana becoming legal in Florida, the bookies would be betting heavily,” Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University poll, said in a statement released with the results.
Support for the idea has grown slightly since a Quinnipiac poll in November 2013 indicated 82 percent of voters approved of legalization. Since that poll, a group spearheaded by prominent Orlando trial lawyer John Morgan finished gathering enough petition signatures to place the issue on this year’s general-election ballot and also received a sign-off from the Florida Supreme Court.
Attorney General Pam Bondi and Republican legislative leaders wanted the Supreme Court to block the constitutional amendment, contending that the proposal was far broader than billed. For example, House Speaker Will Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel, described the proposal as being “about the Coloradofication of Florida, where the end game is a pot shop on every street corner.”
But the Supreme Court, in a 4-3 ruling, allowed the amendment to move forward, finding that the wording of the ballot title and summary would not mislead voters.
Despite the criticism of the ballot proposal, the GOP-dominated Legislature last week approved a bill aimed at making available a strain of marijuana that supporters say will help children who have a form of epilepsy that causes severe seizures. The substance, known as “Charlotte’s Web,” is low in euphoria-inducing tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, so users do not get high.
The Quinnipiac poll found that legal use of medical marijuana was supported by 93 percent of Democrats, 89 percent of independents and 80 percent of Republicans. It was supported by 92 percent of voters ages 18 to 29 and 84 percent of voters ages 65 and older.
Connecticut-based Quinnipiac frequently conducts polls in Florida and other states. It surveyed 1,413 registered Florida voters from April 23 to April 28, and the poll’s margin of error was 2.6 percentage points.
by The News Service of Florida
Comments
17 Responses to “Poll: Florida Voters Are Ready For Medical Marijuana”
For those wanting to vote no then I’m assuming you’ve already contacted your state representative to have prescription codeine, barbiturates, morphine, methadone, amphetamines, etc outlawed since they are not only addictive (which marijuana isn’t) but also much worse for you than marijuana.
do not legalize pot: did you read that whole article or just the parts you liked? If you read the bottom you’ll see:
A separate study — also based on FARS data — found that in states where medical marijuana was approved, traffic fatalities decrease by as much as 11 percent during the first year after legalization. Written by researchers at the University of Colorado, Oregon and Montana State University, the paper was published in 2013 in the Journal of Law & Economics.
Those authors theorized pot, for some, becomes a substitute for alcohol. They cited a recent, 13-percent drop in drunk-driving deaths in states where medical marijuana is legal.
And as far as her claim that some blow smoke in her face and smile then if she’s not taking down their tag number and calling the police then she’s part of the problem. It’s illegal to drive under the influence of any drugs or alcohol, including prescribed drugs that impair the driver.
legal or not people are going to do it if they want.i personal would rather see somebody smoking pot then smoking spice. but if they do legalize it, there should be a law that they are not allowed to operate machinery. what good that will do? probly none considering we have drunk drivers and its illegal to drink and drive. i dont care whether its legal or not…doesnt mean i have got to do it!
Fact is people that want to do a particular drug will do it wether it’s legal or not! I am a mother of 4 and 1 having epilepsy and I strongly teach my children that drugs are wrong. I can tell you first hand that I would be first inline to let my son try charlottes web as an alternative to his seizer medications. And actually would use to treat other health issues with myself as well if legalized , I think people are so afraid due to the fact that it is labeled as a recreational drug, but it was originally used for musical purposes prior to the modern meds we have today. So why is it now labeled wrong of it worked so many hundreds of years ago? If those of you who oppose the use of medical marajjuana , please at least fully educate yourself before you vote or rule it our completely. The medicines used for pain, glaucoma, epilepsy etc all cause serious damage to you liver and kidneys & they also alter the mind and way of thinking therefore you get “high” & labeled on the bottle not to operated machinery until you know how this medicine may affect you and warnings of not mixing with alcohol. What is the difference except less damaging and closer to natural than a pill.
VOTE NO
Just curious…do any of you saying “NO” actually know what strain of Marijuana is to be approved? It is called Charlotte’s Web and is very low in THC. It is THC that causes the High that you get from Smoking. It is normally provided in a Liquid or Cream for aid with Seizures. It is low in THC so that children will not get the HIGH that comes from normal Marijuana. To say Vote No is just crazy. I have never, and never will, smoked Marijuana, but I am all for approving this for Medical Use Only, in a controlled situation!
I am dealing with epilepsy and have been having seizures on a daily basis I belief this does help with people who are suffering as well the people who dont go for the law is people who do not know the real medical uses that it does treat.
I am over 60 and I know without a doubt that only good can come from legalizing marijuana …. Even if it just starts with the medical aspect… I personally am 100% in favor !
Those driving statistics are skewed… if that is the only reason you can come up with is driving, then, heh, stay in the past… drunks and war on drugs has worked so well.
There are other reports stating that crime and auto wrecks are down and those wrecks are hard to prove the person was smoking weed. They could have 3 months ago and now totally sober have an accident. Pee test and bam he’s on pot!
I love how people are pointing out all of the “drugged driving” stuff but yet people die everyday from a drunk driver. I have driven drunk and I have driven stoned and driving drunk is 100 times worse than driving stoned. Stop listening to what the government has to say about things and find out the truth for yourself. There is nothing wrong with marijuana and if you would just smoke it once you would know that but instead you do not smoke it and just agree with everyone that says its bad. There is nothing wrong with it so wake up, try it and then learn who the REAL liars are.
There is no reason not to legalize it . I have never used it but if I ever have the need (Cancer or some other Problem ) then I will use it !!!!! there is nothing unsafe about this plant it is no more dangerous than collard greens … The medical synthetic drug companies have made pot a class one narcotic .. What the hell ,to sell their script drugs…
How is it a disaster in CO? Well, maybe not for everyone, but for some it certainly is. I’m sure you missed this news story: http://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/pot-fuels-surge-drugged-driving-deaths-n22991
Here’s a short excerpt: “During each shift at her drive-through window, once an hour, Cordelia Cordova sees people rolling joints in their cars. Some blow smoke in her face and smile.
Cordova, who lost a 23-year-old niece and her 1-month-old son to a driver who admitted he smoked pot that day, never smiles back. She thinks legal marijuana in Colorado, where she works, is making the problem of drugged driving worse — and now new research supports her claim.”
It should be legalized for all purposes.
Keeping it illegal only creates a subculture of armed criminals that traffic the stuff. Most people are no more likely to smoke the stuff if it is legal. The folks that are inclined to smoke the stuff could just walk across their own back yard and get it.
I would be willing to bet I can walk out my door and buy illegal weed faster than you can drive to the grocery store and get a legal bottle of milk. I would just be getting mine from an unsafe source.
How exactly would this be a disaster Lifendason? If it would have turned out badly in CO and WA then most states would not be caving in regarding legalization. In my opinion most states have found the fearmongerers to be incorrect. We are no longer in the reefer madness days.
thats just what florida needs for the drug heads everywhere in the state
About time. It needs to be 100% legal for all uses. It is a harmless plant. Cigarettes and alcohol are legal and they are way more harmful then marijuana.
@Lifendason, It is not a recipe for disaster. Keeping it illegal isn’t going to solve anything.
It’s a recipe for disaster, I vote NO.
With those poll numbers it should be a no brainer on what should be done. What our politicians do will probably be another story.