Poll: 8 in 10 Kentuckians favor in favor of medical marijuana

38 percent think marijuana should be allowed for any reason

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (May 14, 2013) — New data from the Kentucky Health Issues Poll (KHIP) show most Kentuckians support marijuana use for medical purposes but oppose its use for other purposes. Seventeen states and the District of Columbia, allow marijuana for medicinal use. Three states recently legalized marijuana for recreational purposes.

“Our Kentucky Health Issues Poll (KHIP) is designed to be informative to Kentucky policymakers,” said Susan Zepeda, president/CEO of the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky. “Over the past several years, bills dealing with legalization of marijuana have been filed in the Kentucky General Assembly. This research gives policymakers a snapshot of Kentuckians’ views on this issue and should be helpful as lawmakers consider issues for the 2014 legislative session.”

KHIP found:

♦ Almost eight in 10 (78 percent) Kentucky adults favor allowing residents to use marijuana for medical purposes if it is recommended by their doctor.

♦ Just over one in four (26 percent) adults favor residents being allowed to buy and use marijuana for recreational purposes.

♦ About four in 10 (38 percent) adults favor allowing marijuana to be used for any reason.

On the issue of who should decide if marijuana can be used for medicinal purposes, more than four in 10 (45 percent) said voters should decide while about the same number (46 percent) said lawmakers should decide (23 percent federal; 23 percent state). A little more than one in 20 (6 percent) of adults said doctors should be allowed to decide the issue even though that was not one of the response categories offered.

The KHIP was funded by the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky and the Health Foundation of Greater Cincinnati. The poll was conducted Sept. 20 through Oct. 14, 2012, by the Institute for Policy Research at the University of Cincinnati. A random sample of 1,680 adults from throughout Kentucky was interviewed by telephone, including landlines and cell phones.  The poll has a margin of error of ±2.5 percent.