Oregon’s Measure 91, which would legalize limited amounts of pot in the state, should pass according to polls conducted this week. The survey, conducted by Oregon Public Broadcasting, showed that 52 percent of voters approve the measure while only 41 percent opposed it.
But it’s not a lock yet, and advocates say voters still need to remember to show up or mail in their ballots. And no, that’s not a bad pot joke about forgetful stoners.
Support for Florida’s medical marijuana amendment has been riding high in polls for so long that it almost seemed like its passage would be a foregone conclusion. But a funny thing seems to have happened on the way to the ballot box.
Two new polls show that the amendment is now well below the 60 percent approval it needs to meet in order to be adopted into the state constitution.
Anti-pot activists have embraced a survey showing that the majority of Coloradans are unhappy with marijuana legalization even though other analyses find exactly the opposite. The latest poll to address this issue comes from Suffolk University. The results are synopsized like so: Colorado voters may be having second thoughts about the legalization of marijuana. A slight majority of voters (50.2 percent) say they do not agree with the decision to legalize recreational marijuana in that state — a decision made by voters in 2012 — while 46 percent continue to support the decision. Nearly 49 percent do not approve of how the state is managing legalized pot, compared to 42 percent who approve.
Approximately four seconds after these results were made public, the folks from Project SAM, a group that opposes cannabis legalization, weighed in.
Another poll, another strong showing for medical marijuana.
With Floridians hitting the polls in a mere two months, it’s looking more and more like the majority favor legalizing marijuana. At least according to every poll that’s come out since the initiative was put on the ballot.
The recent polling comes from Gravis Marketing, which says an overwhelming 64 percent of Floridians will vote for Amendment 2 come November. It’s not the biggest margin we’ve seen, but it certainly keeps the narrative going that Floridians want to see medical weed legalized. More at the Broward-Palm Beach New Times.
The results of this year’s State Fair poll were released Tuesday, showing that Minnesotans favor same-day voter registration and an increase in the gas tax for road and bridge construction.
But a slight majority also opposes the idea of legalizing cannabis for recreational use, thereby extending access beyond the medical program established last spring.
In a January interview with The New Yorker magazine, President Obama now famously stated, “As has been well documented, I smoked pot as a kid, and I view it as a bad habit and a vice, not very different from the cigarettes that I smoked as a young person up through a big chunk of my adult life. I don’t think it is more dangerous than alcohol.”
Since that interview, ESPN sent a reporter into NFL locker rooms across the league asking 100 professional football players whether or not they agree with President Obama’s comments. The players’ replies are not very surprising, but unfortunately, neither is the NFL’s reaction to just blow it off.
| KeoniCabral/FlickrCommons |
In February of this year, local pro-cannabis activists in Kern County in Southern California concocted a defense of pot dispensaries that you have to be toking on some top shelf herbs to come up with.
Their argument was that by forcing the closure or re-location of the vast majority of local medical marijuana storefronts, they would be violating the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) by making the region’s cannabis consumers drive their pollution-spewing cars even further to get their medication.
Half-baked or not, the defense stood up in court and the de facto ban on medical marijuana in Kern County was delayed. As we reported at the time, the court’s decision set a potential landmark precedent for other counties or cities on the verge on instituting their own crackdowns on the chron. The example we used was San Diego, and sure enough, America’s Finest City has become the new proving ground.
A measly ten percent of Florida voters think the medical use of marijuana should remain illegal. The rest, for the most part, agree that toking up to relieve pain and suffering should be a right every Floridian should have.
A Quinnipiac University study released this week shows that 88 percent of voters want to legalize medical cannabis. Even senior citizens, who make up one of the largest anti-pot demographics in many other states, support the measure 6 to 1.
| The now-closed Maryjane’s Social Club in Denver. |
Though limited amounts of marijuana are legal for adults 21 and up in Colorado, there’s still not many places to actually legally use cannabis other than in a private home or in a smoking room in a hotel. And while most Coloradans don’t want people lighting weed up in bars or restaurants, they agree that tokers should have a place to congregate. Currently, such places are tolerated in some municipalities but not others, notably in Denver where police have raided pot clubs in recent weeks.
According to data from from Quinnipiac University, members-only marijuana clubs were embraced by a 66-29 percent margin of Colorado voters.Not nearly as many poll participants liked the idea of pot smoking being allowed at bars and other venues where alcohol is served. This idea got a 65-31 percent thumbs down. Likewise, a 63-33 percent negative response greeted a question about cannabis at ticketed entertainment events. And even marijuana smoking amid invitation-only entertainment events with no admission charge was rejected, albeit in closer fashion: 49-46 percent.
Read the local take over at The Latest Word.
A poll in May found 88 percent of Florida voters supported medical marijuana. A March poll showed support at 74 percent. One from November had support at 82 percent.
So a bipartisan poll released today showing that only 70 percent of Floridians plan to vote to legalize medical marijuana in the state is a bit surprising. It follows a poll released on Tuesday that showed support down to 66 percent. Then again it’s hard to get more than 50 percent of Floridians to agree on anything and the amendment on November’s ballot needs just 60 percent support to pass. Miami New Times has more details.