Photo: Polls Boutique |
A new poll has found that a solid majority of New Yorkers — more than 60 percent — are in favor of legalizing marijuana for medical uses.
According to the Cornell University Survey Research Institute poll, there is a marked difference between Democrats and unaffiliated voters on one side and Republicans on the other. Among Democrats, 66 percent support medical legalization, as do 68 percent of independents, reports Cara Matthews at LoHud.com.
But a plurality of Republicans — 48 percent — are against medical marijuana legalization.
More men support medical marijuana than women, 67 percent versus 61 percent.
The higher the household income, the more likely the support for legalization. While only a slight majority, 53 percent, of people with household incomes below $30,000 support medical marijuana, almost three-quarters — 73 percent — of those with incomes of $100,000 or more support legalization, according to the Survey Research Institute.
Legislation to legalize medical marijuana didn’t get through the New York state Senate or Assembly this year. The bill would have allowed patients registered with the state Department of Health to possess up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana.
Under the bill, medical marijuana patients would not be allowed to smoke in public. The state would register organizations that acquire, manufacture, sell, deliver, transport and distribute marijuana for medical uses.
Medical marijuana legislation is not new to the Empire State. Bills on the topic have been introduced for more than a dozen years. The Assembly has passed medical marijuana legalization twice before (both of which fell short in the state Senate), but neither house of the Legislature brought the bill to the full floor for a vote this year.