61% of Massachusetts Residents Favor Cannabis Legalization

According to a University of Massachusetts-Amherst and WCVB poll published Monday, 61% of Bay Staters had a favorable view of cannabis legalization five years after voters approved the reforms. The poll found 37% who had a “very positive” view of legalization along with 24% who had a “somewhat positive” view.

The poll found 25% of respondents held “neither positive nor negative” opinions of the reforms; while 6% held “somewhat negative” views and 7% held “very negative” views.

The poll included 773 respondents and has a margin of error of 4.3%.

Earlier this month, the Massachusetts Cannabis Commission announced that the state had sold $2.3 billion worth of cannabis in the three years since the first adult-use dispensaries opened on Nov. 20, 2018. Commission Chairman Steven Hoffman called the sales figures “pretty phenomenal.” The state’s adult-use cannabis sector employs more than 17,000 employees, while medical cannabis employs about 8,800, according to state figures.

Hoffman told MassLive that the UMass and MCVB poll “shows that legalization is reducing the stigma historically associated with cannabis,” which he said, “will only enable the commission to continue making headway on efforts to ensure full participation in this industry by disproportionately harmed communities.”

Since Massachusetts became the first New England state to allow adult-use cannabis operations, 179 stores have started operations, including 325 adult-use establishments which encompass indoor and outdoor cultivators, product manufacturers, microbusinesses, delivery businesses, and independent testing labs, according to the state data outlined by MassLive.