New Arizona Polls Show Narrow Support for Legalization

Arizona voters will likely support cannabis legalization during November’s General Election as a new Suffolk University/USA TODAY Network poll found 45.6 percent back the reforms with 34.2 percent opposed, AZ Central reports.

The poll comes about one month out from the election.

The poll did find 19.2 percent of respondents were still undecided – a large enough cohort to defeat the initiative. In 2016, Arizona voters narrowly rejected the reforms 52-48 percent.

The poll found 59 percent of Democrats support Proposition 207, with 20 percent opposed and 21 percent undecided. Just 30 percent of Republicans said they supported the reforms, with 50 percent opposed and 20 percent undecided.

A separate poll by Smart and Safe Arizona – the campaign behind the initiative – released last week found 50 percent support and 34 percent opposed, according to the report.

If approved, the measure would allow adults 21 and older to possess up to 1 ounce of cannabis and the state’s existing medical cannabis dispensaries would be allowed to sell to non-patients. The measure includes provisions allowing people previously convicted of crimes that would no longer be illegal under the act to have their records expunged.

Under the act, recreational sales would include a 16 percent excise tax. Twenty-six social equity retail licenses would be created. Health officials would create the criteria the state would employ to issue those licenses.

The Suffolk University/USA Today poll included 500 likely Arizona voters and was conducted between Sept. 26-30 with a 4.4 percent error margin. The Smart and Safe Arizona poll included 800 likely voters with a 3.5 percent margin of error.