According to Cannalytics’ 2016 Voter Report, cannabis policy has a “significant impact and influence” on voter opinions in the upcoming election and that 95 percent of the near 6,000 respondents would rather use legal medical marijuana over prescription drugs, regardless of whether they have used cannabis before.
The report found that 46 percent identified as independent voters, compared to 54 percent who identified as Republican or Democrat. Regardless of political party, a strong majority supported national decriminalization — 96 percent of Republicans agreed, while 89 percent “strongly” agreed; Democrats agreed 96.5 percent with 93.8 percent strongly agreeing; 96.8 percent of independents agreed, with 95 percent agreeing strongly.
Sixty-five percent of respondents said they had consumed at least one alcoholic drink in the last 30 days, and of those who do drink 53 percent said they would drink less if cannabis was legal.
Younger groups were most likely to use cannabis daily, and the majority said they would move because of local cannabis laws. The majority of younger voters were the biggest proponents of using tax revenues from cannabis sales to fund education.
The poll found that men and women consumed cannabis at similar rates, with the majority from both genders admitting to consuming cannabis daily over the previous 30 days.
“Marijuana is the third most popular recreational drug in America (behind alcohol and tobacco), but lately marijuana has been getting a lot more political attention, consequently making it appear that the community is growing at a rapid pace,” the authors wrote.
A majority of respondents, 75 percent, said that they would be more motivated to vote in the election if there was marijuana legislation on the ballot, suggesting that voter turnout could be higher in the nine states voting on cannabis policy during next month’s general election.
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