GOP Voters Want Medical Cannabis Legalized In South Carolina, New Poll Finds

A new poll showed that more than three-fourths of South Carolina voters are in favor of medical cannabis but support drops to half when asked about recreational marijuana.

"Seventy-eight percent of adults want to see cannabis legalized for medical purposes, while fifty-four percent are in favor of recreational legalization," according to the poll conducted in the lead-up to the midterm elections.

The Winthrop poll also found that Republicans are less likely to support cannabis legalization than Democrats.

However, a GOP congresswoman from the state said lawmakers who block the reform are “on the wrong side of history,” reported Marijuana Moment.

Results

For the medical marijuana question, strong majorities of both major parties back the reform, with 82 percent of Democrats and 71 percent of Republicans on board.

Additionally, there was a greater divide when it came to adult-use legalization, with a majority of Democrats (67 percent) supporting the policy change, compared to only 39 percent of Republicans.

“Support for medical marijuana has been growing in South Carolina with sizeable majorities from both parties favoring it. While a bit more than half showed support for legalizing recreational marijuana, there was a sharp partisan divide,” said Scott Huffmon, director of the Winthrop Poll.

Methodology

The November Winthrop Poll was a mixed-mode online and phone survey conducted and paid for by Winthrop University.

The survey is “a probability sample of adult residents of South Carolina. Respondents were randomly selected either from online panels (32.6% of respondents) or via random digit dial for those contacted by phone (67.4% of respondents),” reads the poll. Moreover, “data from 1298 (weighted) respondents were collected between October 22 and November 5, 2022.”

Results using all respondents have a "margin of error of +/- 2.8% at the 95% confidence level." Also, “all subgroups will have a higher margin of error.”

Background

The new survey results come months after a medical cannabis bill passed the South Carolina Senate only to stall in the House of Representatives.

In May, the latest attempt to enact political reform failed when the South Carolina House of Representatives found a way to end seven years of efforts to enact what was considered the most restrictive medical cannabis law in the country. Lawmakers struck down the measure on a sales tax technicality.

Finally, South Carolina Rep. Nancy Mace, who strongly supports cannabis legalization and introduced her own legalization bill, the States Reform Act (SRA) in 2021, said “it’s time for our state and move forward” with medical marijuana legalization and that the “vast majority of South Carolinians” back the reform.

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Photo: Courtesy of Joel Muniz on Unsplash