marijuana issue

A new poll commissioned by Marijuana Policy Project shows a large majority of Ohioans support legalizing medical marijuana use through a constitutional amendment.

(Glen Stubbe, Minneapolis Star Tribune)

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Several polls have shown most Ohioans favor legalizing marijuana for medical use, but a new survey indicates there's enough support to make medicinal marijuana a constitutional right.

Nearly three out of four Ohioans said access to marijuana for certain medical conditions should be a constitutional right, according to a Public Policy Polling survey released Monday. The survey was commissioned by national group Marijuana Policy Project, which plans to put a medical-only amendment on the November ballot in Ohio.

Specifically, the poll asked if voters favor or oppose "making it a constitutional right for patients with terminal or debilitating medical conditions to possess and consume marijuana if their doctors recommend it." The poll did not ask about specific amendment language, which has not been publicly released. Public Policy Polling surveyed 672 Ohio voters Feb. 17-18. The poll has a margin of error of 3.8 percentage points.

Wide support was seen in every demographic group -- race, age, political party, and gender.

Gender: Women 75 percent, men 73 percent

Party: Democrat, 85 percent; Republican, 69 percent; independent, 62 percent

Race: White, 76 percent; African-American, 71 percent; other, 54 percent

Age: 18-29, 76 percent; 30-45, 71 percent; 46-65, 80 percent; older than 65, 64 percent

Marijuana Policy Project spokesman Mason Tvert said the results weren't surprising.

"It's become pretty common knowledge that marijuana can be incredibly beneficial in the treatment of a variety of medical conditions," Tvert said. "There are few laws still on the books that are as unpopular as those that prohibit sick and dying people from accessing medical marijuana."

Tvert said the organization is confident most Ohioans will support its initiative, which he said will be different from Issue 3, last year's failed recreational marijuana measure.

Several independent polls conducted last year showed as many as nine in 10 Ohio voters favored legal medical marijuana use, but only a slim majority of Ohioans supported legalizing recreational use. Support dropped below 50 percent when voters were asked about Issue 3 specifics including the measure's "monopoly" on commercial growers.

Marijuana Policy Project plans to submit its amendment language in March to the Ohio attorney general, the first step in an expensive, months-long path to the statewide ballot. The organization established an Ohio political action committee, Ohioans for Medical Marijuana, to run the campaign here. The effort needs to submit at least 305,591 valid signatures of registered Ohio voters by July 6 to qualify for the November ballot.

Mobile readers, click here to see the poll results.