The Goucher Poll asked Maryland citizens for their opinions toward marijuana, the minimum wage, sick leave, and the addition of gender identity to statewide anti-discrimination laws. Highlights of the results regarding these pressing issues in the state are detailed below.
Marijuana
Marylanders’ opinions toward legalizing marijuana remains basically unchanged since the October 2013 Goucher Poll; half of those polled support making marijuana use legal in the state, while 39 percent oppose legalization. Ninety percent of Marylanders support the use of marijuana for medical purposes, if prescribed by a doctor.
When asked about the consequences for possessing small amounts of marijuana, 45 percent of residents support policies that focus on fines, and 36 percent are in favor of rehabilitation. Seven percent prefer measures that focus on jail time; 8 percent said they had another preference. Forty-one percent of the Maryland’s citizens think legalizing marijuana would reduce the crime rate in the state.
A quarter of Maryland residents think the regulations placed on marijuana should be stricter than those on alcohol; 57 percent think the regulations should be as strict, and 16 percent think they should be less strict.
Fifty-two percent of residents disagree that marijuana is a “gateway drug” in that it leads to the use of “hard” drugs such as cocaine or heroin. Slightly less than half (46 percent) of Marylanders indicated they had personally tried marijuana.
“Maryland residents are clearly supportive of the use of medicinal marijuana, but they remain somewhat divided over whether to legalize it for recreational use,” said Mileah Kromer, director of the Sarah T. Hughes Field Politics Center. “It also appears that residents support the decriminalization of marijuana and have doubts that the use of marijuana is a gateway to hard drug use. Perhaps most interestingly, nearly half of Maryland residents indicated they tried marijuana.”
Pets
Marylanders were asked a series of questions concerning dog ownership and treatment.
About two-thirds of respondents (65 percent) said they would support giving Marylanders a one-time, $100 tax break if they adopted a pet from a shelter or rescue organization, while 28 percent said they would oppose such a measure.
Overall, most Marylanders stated they do not consider some breeds of dog to be inherently dangerous; 67 percent agree it is the treatment of the dog—not the breed—that makes some dogs dangerous. A quarter of Marylanders said some breeds of dog are naturally more dangerous than others.
Sick Leave, Minimum Wage, and Gender Identity Anti-Discrimination
Marylanders were asked two questions concerning employee earnings. A large majority (80 percent) of respondents said they would support a measure requiring Maryland businesses to provide paid sick leave for their employees.
Similarly, 73 percent expressed support for raising the state minimum wage to $10 per hour, while nearly a quarter (24 percent) said they would oppose it.
Finally, respondents were asked their opinions of a bill in the Maryland state legislature that would prohibit discrimination based on gender identity in matters of employment, housing, and public accommodation. Seventy-one percent of Marylanders expressed support for the inclusion of gender identity in the state’s anti-discrimination laws, while 20 percent said they were opposed.
For more information, including the survey methodology and survey question design, please click here.
Additional crosstabs of the survey results are available upon request, and Mileah Kromer, the director of the Sarah T. Hughes Field Politics Center, is available for comment. She can be reached at mileah.kromer@goucher.edu or 724-840-0990. For additional media requests, please contact Kristen Pinheiro, director of media relations, at 410-337-6316 or Kristen.pinheiro@goucher.edu.