All Over Albany

Q Poll: Majority of New Yorkers support medical marijuana and recreational pot legalization

Don't squint, man, here's a large-format version. Wait, what if our world is just a large-format interactive illustration on the computer of some higher being? Crazy. ... Hey, you wanna get some pizza...

A few interesting things about the Q Poll out this week that looked at where New Yorkers stand on marijuana legalization:

+ There's across the board support for medical marijuana. The Q Poll reports that 88 percent of respondents said they were in favor of allowing marijuana use for medical purposes. And not a single demographic group registered support below 82 percent.

That a majority support medical marijuana isn't surprising -- New Yorkers have been trending that way for years -- but the strength and breadth of the support is notable.

+ A majority of the Q Poll respondents -- 57 percent -- said they support allowing "small amounts of marijuana for personal use." The only groups of respondents in which a majority opposed: Republicans (55-39 against) and people age 65+ (57-38 against).

+ There appears to be gradient of opinion on pot questions, from young to old. Not that this is really all that surprising, but the younger the person in the Q Poll, the more likely they were to support relaxing rules and attitudes about pot. Example: 83 percent of respondents 18-29 said they supported allowing small amounts of marijuana use for person use. While at the other end of the age spectrum, 65+, just 38 percent said they support legalization.

This age gradient is depicted in the graph above, which includes the numbers from a handful of the survey's questions. (Don't squint -- here's the large format version.)

It'll be interesting to see how results such as this latest Q Poll will play out at the state Capitol. There's been some push for medical marijuana in the legislature over the last few years, and there's now even a bill to legalize and tax pot in a system similar to the one for alcohol.

And Andrew Cuomo? On one hand, medical marijuana -- and even recreational pot legalization -- is growing in popularity. On the other hand, Cuomo probably wants to stick to the moderate Democrat brand he's developed in an attempt to also appeal to moderate Republicans (both here and, you know, other parts of the nation). Cuomo has proposed a limited trial program for medical marijuana, though advocates have criticized it for being too timid. And his admin has called recreational legalization a "non-starter." Is there a point at which public support shifts his position on the issue?

Poll details: "From February 6 - 10, Quinnipiac University surveyed 1,488 New York State voters with a margin of error of +/- 2.5 percentage points. Live interviewers call land lines and cell phones."

Push for pot, now with lobbying muscle

Noted: a Colorado-based marijuana company has hired influential lobbying firm Patricia Lynch Associates to push for marijuana legalization in New York State. [NYDN]

One of the main arguments being floated for pot legalization: tax revenue. State senator Diane Savino -- who's been pushing for medical marijuana since at least earlier this year -- told the NY Post earlier this month that licensing and taxing could generate close to $1 billion for the state. We'd be interested in the math behind that figure. We did some back-of-the-envelope estimating a few years back and figured the state could probably pull in at least $230 million. [WSJ] [NY Post]

Andrew Cuomo has publicly been less than enthusiastic about the idea. [State of Politics]

Voters in both Colorado and Washington State recently approved measures to legalize recreational use of pot. Estimates of the revenue potential from taxation in those states are in the $300-$400 million/year range. [CNN] [US News]

Eighteen states and DC now allow medical marijuana, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures -- even though it's still illegal under federal law. A Siena poll reported this past May that New Yorkers support legalizing medical marijuana 57-33.

Earlier on AOA: Pot prices around New York State (2011)

photo: Flickr user Caveman 92223

Poll: New Yorkers continue to support medical marijuana, not sure about fracking and MMA

New Yorkers support the legalization of medical marijuana 57-33, according to the Siena poll out today.

That result isn't really surprising -- a few other polls in recent years have also registered support for medical marijuana. The only subgroups in this new Siena poll not responding with majority support: Republicans and conservatives. Also, the income group registering the most support for it: $100k+ at 68 percent.

There have been bills in the legislature over the last few years that would legalize medical marijuana. And state Senator Diane Savino has picked the issue up again this year. But the chances of a bill making it through are probably small without support from Andrew Cuomo -- and he appeared to indicate last month he's not on board. [WSJ] [State of Politics]

We're curious to see the results if people were asked about straight out legalization or decriminalization of pot.

A few other bits from the poll...

(there's more)