Press Release

Detailed poll results memo available at: www.utahpatients.org/february17survey

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah — A February poll of 402 Utahns found that 73 percent of voters support a medical cannabis ballot initiative, with only 20 percent opposed and 7 percent were undecided.

“The poll results show overwhelming and broad support for medical cannabis in Utah,” said DJ Schanz, director of Utah Patients Coalition. “Voters believe that patients should be able to safely and legally access the medicine they need.”

Voters from virtually all demographic groups expressed support, including 64 percent of Republican voters, 63 percent of active LDS voters, and 75 percent of voters age 50 and above. Nearly 80 percent of all voters support medical cannabis in principle.

The poll found 72 percent support for allowing doctors to recommend medical cannabis as a treatment for chronic pain.

A 2014 study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that, between 1999 and 2010, states with medical cannabis laws had a 24.8 percent lower rate of opioid overdose deaths than states without medical cannabis laws.

“The opioid epidemic has already taken too many lives in our state,” said campaign spokesperson Christine Stenquist. “We should allow medical cannabis as a treatment for chronic pain for two urgent reasons. First, medical cannabis is a more effective treatment for many patients. And second, it can potentially play a significant role in reducing the rate of opioid overdose deaths in Utah.”

The poll was conducted with live callers on both landline and wireless phones. It was commissioned by the Marijuana Policy Project, a national marijuana reform organization that is supporting the 2018 Utah campaign. Fairbank, Maslin, Maullin, Metz & Associates, an opinion research firm, conducted the poll.

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The Utah Patients Coalition is a political campaign committee formed to support a 2018 ballot initiative to establish a medical cannabis program in Utah. For more information, visithttps://www.utahpatients.org.