Large Majority of New Mexico Voters Support Legalizing Recreational Cannabis

Large Majority of New Mexico Voters Support Legalizing Recreational Cannabis

A large majority of likely voters in New Mexico support legalizing cannabis for recreational uses, a new Albuquerque Journal Poll has found.

According to the survey, 61% of New Mexico voters likely to vote in the upcoming election are in support of legalizing cannabis for all uses for adults. Just 34% – roughly 1 in 3 – are opposed to the move, with 5% undecided. This indicates that if every undecided voter decided to oppose legalization, it would still have a double-digit lead (61% to 39%).

Unsurprisingly the survey found a strong generational difference; “More than four in five – 82 percent – of voters ages 18 to 34 said they would support a proposal to legalize pot for recreational use, while just 45 percent of those 65 and older expressed support”, says Olivier Uyttebrouck of the Albuquerque Journal.

“I think if the election were held today, it would pass,” says Brian Sanderoff, president of Research & Polling Inc., referring to whether or not voters would pass a legalization initiative if given a chance.

“[T]his year’s polling indicates that public attitudes about marijuana have changed since 2014”, says Uytterbrouck. “A Journal survey that year found that only 44 percent of likely voters favored a constitutional change to legalize, regulate and tax marijuana. Fifty percent said they opposed legalization.”

The Journal Poll is based on a scientific, statewide sample of 501 voters who said they planned to vote this year and either cast ballots in the 2012 or 2014 general elections or just registered to vote. The poll was conducted Sept. 27-29. The full voter sample has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.4 percentage points.