Florida wants medical marijuana. Days after the state legislature for the first time sent a bill to the governor's desk legalizing some pot -- namely, a low-THC strain used to help children with epilepsy -- a new poll out this morning makes it crystal clear where voters stand on the full legalization of medical marijuana.
The latest poll from Quinnipiac University shows 88 percent of voters support the idea. A majority of those polled also backed legalizing small amounts of weed for personal use.
See also: How to Get Rich in the Medical Marijuana Business (Or Go Broke Trying)
Add it up and it's hard to imagine the initiative on November's ballot failing to find statewide support.
"If Vegas were giving odds on medical marijuana becoming legal in Florida, the bookies
would be betting heavily," Peter A. Brown, the assistant director of Quinnipiac's poll, says in a release. "With almost nine in ten voters favoring legalization for medical purposes, and bills allowing such use advancing in the state legislature, the odds seem pretty good Florida may join the states which already have done so."
Quinnipiac found a majority in favor of medical marijuana among every group it polled, including a resounding 84 percent in favor among the formidable voting bloc of those older than 65.
(However, as Marc Caputo at the Miami Herald notes, the poll didn't ask voters about the exact language on November's ballot, leaving open the possibility they'll be slightly less enthusiastic about the measure itself.)
Floridians are more divided about whether to fully legalize recreational pot, but the poll still found a clear majority in favor, with a 53-42 percent split.
That question also found support across most demographic lines -- with men backing it by 58 percent, young voters by 72 percent, and Democrats by 59 percent. Opposition comes from registered Republicans, 64 percent of whom are against the idea, and voters older than 65, who polled 61 percent against it.
Quinnipiac's poll, which sampled 1,413 registered voters last month, reports a margin of error of 2.6 percentage points.
Bottom line: It might be time to invest in that local dispensary.
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