COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Ohio voters overwhelmingly approve of medicinal marijuana and narrowly support same-sex marriage, according to a poll released Monday.

A Quinnipiac University poll of Ohio voters found 87 percent support the use of medical marijuana while only 11 percent oppose. Ohio voters also narrowly approve of allowing adults to possess small amounts of the drug for personal use -- 51 percent in favor, 44 percent opposed.

Two medical marijuana proposals are in the works, but it's unclear whether either will collect the more-than 385,000 signatures of valid Ohio voters required to put the issue before voters in November.



Twenty states and Washington, D.C. allow for medical marijuana programs and Colorado and Washington voters gave the green light for legal recreational use in 2012. Ohio voters say Colorado's legalization is bad for the state's image, with 37 percent of those polled saying it helps the state.

Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute, said Ohioans' views of marijuana are complicated.

"Twice as many voters think alcohol is more dangerous than marijuana, and about half the state's voters think the two are equally harmful," Brown said in a statement.

Support is strongest among voters age 18 to 29, who approve of personal marijuana use 72 percent to 25 percent, but boomers and Gen-Xers say they've tried marijuana at a higher rate than younger voters. More than half of Ohio voters -- 55 percent -- say they've never tried marijuana.

The poll surveyed 1,370 registered Ohio voters from Feb. 12-17 on land lines and cell phones, and the poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 2.7 percentage points.

Gay marriage

Most younger voters also support same-sex marriage, with 71 percent in favor of legalizing the unions and 28 percent opposed, while 59 percent of voters over age 65 oppose it.

"Given that younger voters support same sex marriage almost 3-1, it would seem to be just a matter of time," Brown said.

Overall support for gay marriage hit 50 percent, with 44 percent opposed, a little greater than the last time Quinnipiac polled on the issue in April 2013.

Support is higher among Democrats (67 percent) than independents (53 percent) and Republicans (29 percent). Support is higher among women than men, with 55 percent of women in favor of same-sex marriage and 46 percent of men.

FreedomOhio, the group backing a constitutional amendment to overturn Ohio's 2004 same-sex marriage ban, commissioned a poll in December that showed support for the specific amendment was greater than on the issue.



Abortion

The poll also asked a few questions about abortion.

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Have you used marijuana for medical treatment?

Ohio voters were asked whether they think abortion should be legal or illegal in all or most cases.

19 percent of voters say abortion should be legal in all cases;

34 percent say it should be legal in most cases;

27 percent say it should be illegal in most cases;

14 percent say it should be illegal in all cases.

Ohio voters disapprove of how Gov. John Kasich is handling abortion, 26 percent approve while 34 percent disapprove. In June, Kasich signed a two-year state budget containing several abortion and women's health-related provisions. Kasich's approval rating on the issue among women was the lowest, with only 18 percent approval. Men split, 34 percent approve and 32 percent disapprove.