Things are looking good for Question 4, Maryland’s Cannabis legalization initiative, one month out from Election Day, according to the latest polling.
A large majority of registered voters in Maryland say they support legalizing marijuana for adult use, just weeks before voters will decide the question in the November election, a Washington Post-University of Maryland poll finds.
Just under 3 in 4, or 73 percent, of Maryland voters favor legalizing “the use of cannabis” for people 21 and older, matching language on November’s ballot. Support for the idea is widespread, reports The Washington Post. Majorities favoring it across regions, education levels, and racial, partisan and age groups.
87% Of Young Maryland Voters Support Legalization
Legalizing marijuana is especially popular among young voters, with 87 percent of voters under 40 favoring legalization. Legalization also has overwhelming support among African American voters, at 77 percent, and among white voters, at 70 percent, reports The Hill.
An overwhelming 81 percent of registered Independent voters in Maryland support the proposed referendum, along with 78 percent of registered Democrats. But just 53 percent of Republicans support the measure.
“Across almost every category that we usually look at — party, ideology, age, sex, education level, race, ethnicity — there are pretty sizable majorities of people who support legalizing marijuana in the state of Maryland,” said Michael Hanmer, director of the University of Maryland’s Center for Democracy and Civic Engagement, reports WTOP.
Maryland could become the 20th state, alongside Washington, D.C., to legalize adult weed use if state voters pass the measure.
1.5 Ounces and Two Plants
The proposed measure will allow adults to legally possess up to 1.5 ounces of the herb, reports WWLP. It would legally allow adults to grow two plants, reports NBC Washington. It will create marijuana business assistance and social equity community reinvestment and repair funds.
Del. Luke Clippinger, lead sponsor of the bill in the House of Delegates, said police arrest thousands every year for possession of small amounts of marijuana. Many of them, he said, are people of color.
“African Americans and people of Hispanic descent have disproportionately been arrested and convicted of these crimes,” Del. Luke Clippinger said.
Many Republicans In The General Assembly Didn’t Want Marylanders To Even Get To Vote On This!
Many Republicans in the Maryland General Assembly voted against the referendum. Some of them even voiced the opinion that only lawmakers shuld get to vote on legalization. They opposed sending it to voters directly. Lawmakers, with overwhelming Democratic support, passed the legislation in their latest session.
If voters approve it, the legislature will take up how Cannabis will be sold and taxed in Maryland next year. The state already has a legal medical marijuana program.
The poll was conducted from Sept. 22 to Sept. 27 with a total of 810 state residents participating in the survey. The poll’s margin of error was plus or minus 4 percentage points.
