cannabisnews.com: Polls Show Support for Proposal to Allow MMJ Use





Polls Show Support for Proposal to Allow MMJ Use
Posted by FoM on September 22, 1999 at 08:43:24 PT
By Associated Press
Source: Boston Globe
A pair of surveys released six weeks before the Nov. 2 election show a majority of voters support a proposal to allow the use of marijuana for medical purposes. But results of polls asking about the proposal to ban a certain type of late-term abortions show differing results. 
A poll conducted Sept. 10-13 by Strategic Marketing Services of Portland found that of those who said they understand the abortion question, about 55 percent would vote against the ban or were leaning that way, while nearly 39 percent said they would vote for the ban. The SMS survey of 400 Maine voters 18 and over had a 5 percent error margin. But a separate survey of 402 Mainers during the first two weeks of September showed 53 percent favor the late-term or so-called ''partial birth'' abortion ban, while 39 percent said they would vote against it. The survey by Critical Insights, also of Portland, has a margin of error 4 percent. The difference in the results is likely due to a difference in how the survey questions were asked and who was sampled, Strategic Marketing's Patrick Murphy said today. The SMS sampling, for example, weeded out those who were not likely voters, and asked how they would vote of the referendum were held ''today,'' he said. SMS also broke the abortion question into two parts. It first asked likely voters if they understood the referendum question. Nearly six out of 10 people said they did. It limited the follow-up question to that group. Results of the two surveys on a second referendum question, whether to allow the use of marijuana for medical purposes, matched more closely. In the Critical Insights survey, 68 percent of those responding said they would vote to allow patients with specific illnesses to grow and use small amounts of marijuana, provided its use is approved by a doctor. Thirty percent said they would vote against the measure. Strategic Marketing found about 70 percent of those interviewed were in favor of the proposal to allow medical use of the drug, while nearly 28 percent opposed or were leaning against the proposal. Both surveys also indicated strong support for a proposed $50 million bond issue to purchase public lands for conservation and recreation. In Strategic Marketing's survey, more than 73 percent said they would vote for the bond, while 67 percent of those interviewed by Critical Insights approved of the borrowing proposal. But both surveys' results also suggested weak support for the $9.4 million borrowing package to help Maine Public Broadcasting convert from analog to digital broadcasting, as required by the Federal Communications Commission. The SMS poll showed 54 percent opposed and 34 percent in favor of or leaning toward passage, while Critical Insights showed 55 percent opposed and about a third supported the measure. By Associated Press, 09/22/99 10:26 http://www.mainers.org/Medical Pot Use Up to Maine Voters - 9/20/99http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread2956.shtml
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Comment #1 posted by FoM on September 22, 1999 at 10:52:27 PT:
Harris - Excite: Medical Marijuana Poll
September 21, 1999Would you vote to legalize marijuana for medical purposes? 
Harris - Excite: Medical Marijuana Poll
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