{"id":69414,"date":"2023-10-18T07:49:43","date_gmt":"2023-10-18T15:49:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/2023\/10\/18\/poll-finds-57-support-for-marijuana-legalization-among-ohio-likely-voters-including-majority-of-republicans\/"},"modified":"2023-10-18T19:46:31","modified_gmt":"2023-10-19T03:46:31","slug":"poll-finds-57-support-for-marijuana-legalization-among-ohio-likely-voters-including-majority-of-republicans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/2023\/10\/18\/poll-finds-57-support-for-marijuana-legalization-among-ohio-likely-voters-including-majority-of-republicans\/","title":{"rendered":"Poll Finds 57% Support For Marijuana Legalization Among Ohio Likely Voters, Including Majority Of Republicans"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Fifty-seven percent of Ohio likely voters said in a new survey that they plan to vote yes on Issue 2, an initiative on the ballot next month that would legalize marijuana for adults 21 and older. That includes a slim majority of Republicans even as GOP elected officials in the state continue to oppose the reform<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile 35 percent of respondents said they plan to oppose the measure, while just 7 percent were undecided.<\/p>\n

According to the poll, conducted by Baldwin Wallace University Community Research Institute (CRI) and published Tuesday, the reform had majority support among Democrats (66.4 percent), independents (58.6 percent) and Republicans (50.4 percent), as well as across urban (64.6 percent), suburban (57.3 percent) and rural (53.1 percent) voters. Both women (55.4 percent) and men (59.3 percent) said they support the policy change.<\/p>\n

In fact, self-identified conservatives were the only demographic group identified by the survey with majority opposition to Issue 2, with 50.1 percent of them planning to vote no. Moderates were 61.7 percent in support, while 72.6 percent of liberals plan to vote yes.<\/p>\n

Issue 2 also had support from pluralities of voters 50 and older (46.8 percent yes, 45.0 percent no) as well as evangelical voters (46.9 percent yes, 46.3 percent no), although the margin of error for likely voter responses was up to 4 percent.<\/p>\n

Notably, 70.3 percent of parents said they plan to support legalization compared to 52.1 percent of people without children.<\/p>\n

The poll also found majority support for a separate initiative on abortion rights that will appear on the November 7 ballot alongside the cannabis reform proposal.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe majorities of respondents in these demographics favoring Issue 1 and Issue 2 indicate a strong likelihood of a majority vote for both ballot issues in November,\u201d said Tom Sutton, a political science professor and CRI\u2019s director.<\/p>\n

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Curious about what’s on Ohio voters’ minds? Dive into the latest findings from the Ohio Pulse Poll by BW’s Community Research Institute! \"🤔\"\"🗳\"\"🐝\" https:\/\/t.co\/pzNyIGwQkM<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Baldwin Wallace University (@BaldwinWallace) October 18, 2023<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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Among racial groups, white voters were the least likely to support Issue 2, with 54.9 percent of those respondents saying they would vote for the measure. Support was stronger among Black voters (75.0 percent) and those who identified as \u201csomething else\u201d (63.6 percent).<\/p>\n

Just under half (44.9 percent) of those surveyed said they plan to vote early, while 51.9 percent said they\u2019ll vote in person on Election Day. Early voting in the state began on October 11.<\/p>\n

The election is expected to draw sizable turnout despite being an off year.<\/p>\n

Both marijuana and abortion, Sutton said, \u201care personal for many Ohioans, which means that we can expect voter turnout will be much higher than usual for an off-year election only involving voting for local offices.\u201d<\/p>\n

Of respondents who said they\u2019re certain to vote and also oppose Issue 2\u2019s adult-use legalization, a sizable majority (61.6 percent) nevertheless said<\/a> they support continuing to make medical cannabis legally available under the state\u2019s current program. No demographic group identified by the survey had majority opposition to legal medical marijuana.<\/p>\n

The results of the survey are consistent with a poll conducted in mid-August by FM3 Research on behalf of the organization behind Issue 2, the Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol. In that survey, 55 percent of respondents said they \u201cdefinitely\u201d or \u201cprobably\u201d would vote yes on the legalization initiative, while about 34 percent \u201cdefinitely\u201d or \u201cprobably\u201d would oppose it. About 11 percent were undecided.<\/p>\n

The FM3 report said those findings were \u201cremarkably consistent\u201d with other publicly released polls on legalization, specifically those by Fallon Research in August<\/a> and Suffolk University in July<\/a>, which also showed 59 percent support for the policy change.<\/p>\n

Public sentiment has also generally held steady over time, with 57 percent support in 2019, 61 percent support in 2020 and 63 percent support in 2022, it said.<\/p>\n

Here are the key provisions of the legalization ballot\u00a0measure<\/a> on the November 7 ballot:<\/strong><\/p>\n