Florida voters set to legalise medical marijuana: survey

Voters in the US state of Florida appear overwhelmingly inclined to legalise medical marijuana in a referendum November 8, a new poll out today shows.

Some 77 per cent of likely voters in the southeastern state have said they will cast ballots in favor of Amendment 2 -- which would change the state's constitution to legalise cannabis for medicinal use -- according to the survey conducted by the Public Opinion Research Laboratory (PORL) at the University of North Florida.

"Not only are Democrats wildly supportive, but even Republicans are above the 60 per cent threshold required for passage," said the laboratory's faculty director Michael Binder. He added that the strongest support was among likely voters age 34 and under, but many older than 65 also favor the amendment.
 

The poll -- which surveyed some 700 likely voters between September 27 and October 4 -- found that about 18 per cent of Floridians have said they will vote against legalisation, with four per cent still undecided.

In 2014 the institution found that 67 per cent of Florida voters approved of the measure, after conducting a similar survey during the same time frame.

Yet, when it came time to vote Floridians nevertheless decided against medical marijuana, falling nearly three per cent shy of the 60 per cent required for legalisation.

"It's a great feeling to know we're ten points ahead of where we were this time last campaign," Bianca Garza of United for Care, a pro-medical marijuana organisation, told AFP.

"However positive it feels, we are not taking the numbers for granted," Garza said. "The race isn't over, we are continuing to fight."

At least 10 Florida newspapers have endorsed medical marijuana legalisation -- most recently the Panama City News Herald called Amendment 2 "a compassionate, common-sense measure."

"Florida residents should have the same ability to avoid the risks of addiction and overdose that come with legal painkillers, and instead use medical marijuana to treat chronic pain, nausea and other conditions that stem from debilitating disease," the paper's editorial board wrote.

Half of America's 50 states, as well as the capital city Washington, have approved cannabis for medical use, with a handful of states expanding legalisation to include the drug's recreational use.