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Medical Marijuana Still Polling Strong Among Floridians

Another poll, another strong showing for medical marijuana. With Floridians hitting the polls in a mere two months, it's looking more and more like the majority favors legalizing marijuana. At least according to every poll that's come out since the initiative was put on the ballot. The recent polling comes...
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Another poll, another strong showing for medical marijuana.

With Floridians hitting the polls in a mere two months, it's looking more and more like the majority favors legalizing marijuana. At least according to every poll that's come out since the initiative was put on the ballot.

The recent polling comes from Gravis Marketing, which says an overwhelming 64 percent of Floridians will vote for Amendment 2 come November. It's not the biggest margin we've seen, but it certainly keeps the narrative going that Floridians want to see medical weed legalized.

Unlike other pollsters, though, Gravis relies on surveying all registered voters -- not just "likely voters." Gravis also looks at internet panels and automated phone calls to gather its info, which means most of the surveys are taken pretty much anonymously. Most polls traditionally speak to people they're surveying.

Still, most major polls beginning early this year have shown the majority of folks leaning toward legalization.

Back in March, a University of North Florida poll showed that 74 percent of Floridians support legalizing medical weed.

Then in May, Quinnipiac University released a poll that found that 88 percent of Florida voters support Amendment 2.

That same poll showed a good portion of those surveyed saying they'd support allowing adults to legally possess small amounts of pot for recreational use by a 53-42 percent majority.

More men than women favored recreational weed, 58 to 38 percent, while women seem divided on the issue, with 48 percent for and 46 percent opposed.

Recreational marijuana seems to be more popular with younger voters and got a more conservative approach the older those polled got.

Voters 18 to 29 years old support recreational marijuana 72 to 24 percent, while voters aged 30 to 64 support it in smaller margins. Polled voters who are over 65 years old opposed 61 to 33 percent.

The most recent Qunnipiac poll, released in late July, showed Floridians support medical marijuana 9-1.

It's hard to say if the recent video showing medical marijuana advocate and big-money donor John Morgan riling up a rowdy crowd with a profanity-laced pro-marijuana speech will make an impact on voters.

But at this point, the likely effect of the video will probably be to sway only a few still on the fence on the issue. And even then, those swayed will be people who already leaned one way or the other.

The fact remains that polling numbers have always seemed to favor the legalization of medical marijuana in Florida. This includes 71 percent of Floridians who say they would support having a marijuana dispensary in the town or city they live in.

However you look at it, the numbers seem to more and more be reflecting the national trend of having some form of medical cannabis legalized in Florida.

Send your story tips to the author, Chris Joseph. Follow Chris Joseph on Twitter



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