More than 60 percent of Utahans believe patients deserve the legal right to use medicinal cannabis, when prescribed by a doctor, the latest poll suggests.
According to the UtahPolicy poll, 35% of respondents “definitely favor” medical marijuana legalization, while 26% claimed to “somewhat favor” it. Meanwhile, 25% said that they would “definitely oppose” and 11% claimed to “somewhat oppose” such a move. Only 2% were unsure.
This poll suggests an uncommon contrast between Utah voters and voters from other regions regarding the demographics of who generally favors cannabis reform. Normally, cannabis legislation is particularly popular with younger generations; however, according to UtahPolicy, 61% of respondents aged 65 and older approved of medical marijuana, while a slight majority (51%) of 18-24 year old respondents were in opposition of such reform.
Utah State Sen. Mark Madsen (R-Saratoga Springs) proposed a bill earlier this year that would have established medical cannabis in the state, but the bill failed by one vote near the end of the Senate’s 2015 legislative session. Madsen had traveled to Colorado to personally test whether or not cannabis could be used medicinally (he suffers from chronic back pain), and returned claiming that it had proven helpful.
Photo Credit: Garrett