In a Yahoo/Marist survey, 83 percent of respondents said medical cannabis treatments should be legalized in the U.S., and two-thirds indicated opioid-based drugs are “riskier” to use than cannabis even when prescribed by a physician, the Coloradoan reports. Among those that supported medical cannabis use, 70 percent of respondents said pregnant women should not use cannabis for nausea and pain, and support for providing medical cannabis treatments to children was split 50/50.
Respondents were also divided on whether President Donald Trump should enforce federal laws in states with legal cannabis programs – 38 percent said he shouldn’t be as tough as his predecessor President Barack Obama, whose policy was to leave states alone, while 30 percent said Trump should take a harder line in legal states. The rest of the respondents weren’t sure or said Trump should maintain Obama’s policies.
Only one in five indicated that cannabis was riskier to use than opioids. According to the report, 91 people die every day from opioid and heroin overdoses, and 2 million Americans are addicted to opioid-based pain medication. Cannabis alone has never been linked to a single death.
The poll of 1,122 adults was conducted last month via telephone with a margin of error plus or minus 2.9 percent.