Poll shows slight support growth for legalized marijuana in Arizona
Oct 10, 2016, 7:45 AM | Updated: 9:52 pm
(AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty, File)
(AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty, File)
PHOENIX — Support for legalized marijuana in Arizona has grown slightly over the past month, a poll released Monday showed.
The poll from OH Predictive Insights showed 51 percent of respondents said they would vote against Proposition 205 on Aug. 28. Forty percent said they would vote for it.
When a new poll was conducted a month later, 47 percent of respondents said they were against the measure while 43 percent said they would vote for it.
“As the heavily funded pro- and anti-marijuana campaigns are well under way, the legalization effort seems to only be half-baked,” chief pollster Mike Noble said. “The pro-legalization team has a lot of work to do to overcome lackluster polling numbers.”
However, efforts by the pro-legalization campaign may be paying off. An earlier poll by OH Predictive Insights found 39 percent of voters supported legalizing marijuana while more than 52 percent were against it.
Experts are divided on how legalized marijuana would affect teenagers in the state.
“The impact of marijuana on adolescents can be profound and will include impairments of memory and concentration which will impact their learning,” Dr. Stacy Nicholson, physician-in-chief at Phoenix Children’s Hospital said earlier this week.
However, Barrett Marson, spokesman for the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol and a supporter of Prop. 205, said it will be harder for teenagers to get a hold of marijuana if the ballot measure passes.
Monday’s poll also included data on Proposition 206, which would raise the minimum wage in Arizona. Growth over the last month between both the yes and no votes has remained steady, as the number of undecided voters has dropped.
The Monday poll involved 718 respondents who were contacted by phone and has a margin of error of 3.66 percent.
KTAR’s Mike Sackley contributed to this report.
