By Carl Campanile
A majority of New York voters back the legalization of the
recreational use of marijuana in the state even as lawmakers continue to
grapple with the issue, a new survey released Monday reveals.
The Siena College poll found that 55 percent of voters back the
legalization while 40 percent were opposed, mirroring support registered
in previous polls.
Support for pot legalization was consistent across all regions of the state.
Two groups of voters opposed were older New Yorkers and Republicans.
Fifty four percent of voters ages 55 and older were are against the
government legalizing marijuana as were 53 percent of Republicans.
Voters under 35 backed weed by a three-to-one margin and nearly two-thirds of Democrats approve.
Marijuana legalization has run into more problems with the political
class because of intense opposition among certain groups, particularly
law enforcement. Numerous suburban and upstate counties — Nassau and
Suffolk among them– have said they won’t allow marijuana to be sold
within their geographical area.
“There continues to be support for legalizing the recreational use of
marijuana. It has strong support from Democrats and independents, while
Republicans oppose it, albeit narrowly, 53-40 percent,” said Siena
pollster Steven Greenberg.
The state Legislature, which is scheduled to adjourn its session June 19, has been unable to muster the voters to legalize weed.
But voters are resisting another controversial proposal that has
languished in Albany — authorizing the state to provide driver’s
licenses to illegal immigrants. Only 41 percent of voters back such a
law, while 53 percent of respondents were opposed.
Opposition was particularly strong upstate, where 62 percent of
voters gave thumbs down to granting licenses to undocumented residents,
compared to 35 percent who support it. A majority of suburbanites were
opposed and even in New York City voters were split.
Blacks, Hispanics and Democrats were three groups that back the so-called Green Light measure
Meanwhile amid the measles epidemic, 84 percent of voters support a
law requiring parents to have their kids vaccinated for diseases such as
measles –regardless of the parents’ personal religious beliefs. Despite
overwhelming public support, legislators in Albany have dragged their
heels in eliminating the religious exemption.
Voters also strongly support adding an Equal Rights Amendment to the
State Constitution — with 72 percent in favor and 17 percent opposed.
The poll of 812 voters statewide was conducted from June 2-6 and
has a margin of effort of plus or minus 4.1 percentage points.
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