SALT LAKE CITY — More than three-quarters of Utahns surveyed support the concept of medical marijuana, a new poll reveals.
RELATED: It looks like medical marijuana WILL be on the ballot in Utah
The poll, published Monday by the political news website UtahPolicy.com, showed that 77% of Utahns strongly or somewhat favor medical cannabis access. Those numbers show an overwhelming support for the concept as it heads to the November ballot. (The poll was conducted in February among 609 voters with a margin of error of 4%.)
The Utah Patients Coalition, which has been backing the medical marijuana ballot initiative, told FOX 13 it has collected more than 150,000 signatures so far. That is well above the 113,000 signature threshold needed to qualify for the ballot (though the signatures need to be validated).
Medical marijuana has continued to poll well in Utah, despite the state legislature’s reluctance to address it fully. This year, lawmakers passed a pair of bills that somewhat address cannabis — a “right to try” for terminally ill patients with about six months to live, and an order that the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food grow the marijuana for them.
Previous bills attempting to provide more cannabis access for more patients have failed to pass the Utah State Legislature. That prompted the ballot initiative.
While Utah policymakers have been reluctant to address medical-grade cannabis, neighboring states have had voter drives for recreational marijuana. Colorado and Nevada have both legalized recreational sales. The nearest cannabis dispensary is in Mesquite, Nev., but West Wendover is also contemplating recreational marijuana sales.
