Poll: Hawaii Support for Marijuana Law Reform Grows

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A new poll shows a big increase in support for an overhaul of Hawaii marijuana laws.

The poll of 400  voters, commissioned by Drug Policy Action Group and reported in a press release from ACLU of Hawaii, was conducted statewide by QMark Research Jan. 17-23. Highlights include:

• 77 percent of voters think that jail time is inappropriate for marijuana possession (an increase of 8 percentage points over 2012);

• 66 percent of voters are in favor of outright legalization for adult use (an increase of 9 percentage points);

• 85 percent of voters continue to support the state’s medical marijuana program (up 4 percentage points); and

• 85 percent support for a dispensary system (a 7 percentage point increase).

Pamela Lichty, president of the Drug Policy Action Group, said, “Around the country and here in Hawaii, voters are fed up with marijuana laws that seem to have been written after watching 1930’s propaganda films like ‘Reefer Madness’. Voters today want reasonable, modern policies that acknowledge marijuana’s value as a medicine, and which address public health and safety, but do not overstate marijuana’s risks as a recreational drug. …” 

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Photo: Sign. (Neeta Lind)

—Chad Blair

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