Poll: 44% Oppose Legalizing Marijuana In NJ; One In Four Would Try Or Use It
GALLOWAY, N.J. (CBS) – A new Stockton University poll reveals that New Jerseyans are split when it comes to legalizing marijuana for recreational use.
The university polled 728 adults who live in New Jersey asking them where they stand on the issue.
Forty-nine percent of those polled said they support legalizing pot for recreational purposes.
Currently, medical marijuana is only legal in the Garden State.
According to the study, 44 percent oppose legalization, with roughly 5 percent unsure.
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"These poll results suggest there is not a consensus in New Jersey on whether marijuana should be made legal," said Michael W. Klein, interim executive director of the William J. Hughes Center for Public Policy at Stockton.
Stockton says 75 percent of those poll stated that they don't currently use marijuana and would not do so even if it was legal.
But, roughly one in four participants (15 percent) said that although they do not use the drug, they would try it if it were legal.
Younger adults and men are more likely to support legalization, the study shows.
Sixty-four percent of respondents younger than age 50 support legalization, compared to 41 percent of age 50 and older. Among men, 56 percent support legalizing marijuana, while only 44 percent of women do.
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Twenty-four percent of pro-legalization participants said their main reason for supporting the law would be tax revenues. Twenty-two percent said that marijuana was safer than alcohol and 11 percent said pot was safer than tobacco.
About 11 percent of pro-legalization participants said that legalizing marijuana would reduce law enforcement or prison costs.
Governor Phil Murphy has expressed his support for legalizing marijuana in New Jersey.
Stockton conducted the poll from March 22-29, 2018. Interviewers working from the Stockton University campus called landline and cell telephones. The statewide poll's margin of error is +/- 3.65 percentage points.
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