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BILLINGS – The majority of Montana voters oppose the medical marijuana expansion proposed in I-182, according to a recent poll commissioned by Lee Newspapers.

The findings suggest that Montana is bucking the national trend of acceptance of the drug, and the campaign for the initiative says that its own data paints a different picture.

A Lee Newspapers poll of more than 1,000 registered voters, conducted Oct. 10-12, found that 51 percent of people responding said they they would vote no on the ballot initiative. It would restore access to medical marijuana for thousands of Montanans while putting in place licensing, product testing and other restrictions.

Of those polled, 44 percent favored the measure, leaving 5 percent undecided. The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.2 percentage points.

The majority of Democrats and Independents favored the initiative, the poll showed. But it wasn't enough to overcome Republicans, who came out 72 percent against I-182.

Craig Wilson, a political science professor at Montana State University Billings, suggested that in a battle over public perception, medical marijuana might have been hurt by its tumultuous history.