Politics & Government

Age Matters When it Comes to Support for Recreational Marijuana Use in CT

The findings of a new Quinnipiac Poll also reveal a gender divide when it comes to the issue of marijuana.

The younger you are, the more likely it is that you support recreational marijuana use in Connecticut, according to the results of a Quinnipiac Poll released Monday.

On a whole, based on poll results, a slight majority of residents — 52 percent to 45 percent — support "allowing adults ... to legally possess small amounts of marijuana for personal use."

And nearly half of poll respondents, 47 percent, said they have tried marijuana.

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On the question of so-called recreational marijuana use, Quinnipiac says voters 18 to 29 years old support the idea 80 percent to 20 percent, while voters over 65 years old are opposed 61 percent to 34 percent. 

The poll also broke it down by gender and reveals that men back recreational marijuana 54 percent to 42 percent, but women are pretty much divided, with 49 percent supporting it and 48 percent agains it.

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There really was no question about where Connecticut voters stand on the issue of medical use of marijuana — 90 percent support it compared to 9 percent against it, according to poll results. Breaking that down, Quinnipiac says support ranges from 84 percent among voters over 65 years old to 99 percent among voters 18 to 29 years old. A majority of voters (69 – 28 percent) support having a medical marijuana dispensary in their town or city, the poll says.

Quinnipiac's poll also shed light on people's attitudes about marijuana, including:

  • 61 percent of voters say alcohol is more harmful to a person’s health, while 16 percent say marijuana is more harmful and 18 percent say both are harmful.
  • If marijuana were more widely available, 55 percent of voters say alcohol would be more harmful to society, while 28 percent say marijuana would be more harmful.
  • Legalizing marijuana would lead to more underage use, voters say 59 – 37 percent.

“A slight majority of Connecticut voters favor legalizing marijuana for recreational use, with huge age and party gaps," said Douglas Schwartz, PhD, director of the Quinnipiac University Poll. "While 90 percent support the current law allowing medical marijuana, support drops to 69 percent who would want a medical marijuana dispensary in their town.” 

Voters' Stance on Other Social Issues

From May 1 through May 6, Quinnipiac University surveyed 1,668 registered voters with a margin of error of +/- 2.4 percentage points.  

Your Stance?

Do you support the recreational and medicinal use of marijuana?


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