Oklahomans ready to consider medical marijuana at the polls

A recent SoonerPoll found that a majority of Oklahomans would like to see the issue of the use of medical marijuana on the ballot.

When asked if they support a statewide vote to decide the issue of the use of medical marijuana for patients when prescribed by a licensed physician 54.4 percent of respondents said they did while only 33.6 percent said they did not.

"This is not necessarily an endorsement. There are two motives to put it on the ballot," Keith Gaddie, Vice President of SoonerPoll, said. "One is to put it on to approve it; the other is to settle the issue by voting it down."

SoonerPoll.com, Oklahoma's public opinion pollster, commissioned and conducted the study that used live interviewers by telephone of 500 likely voters from April 5 - 15, 2010. The study has a margin of error of ±4.38 percent.

Further analysis of results indicates that 46.2 percent of those respondents who consider themselves to be conservative agree that medical marijuana should be decided on a ballot. Though 46.2 percent does not compare to the 72.7 percent of liberals who would like to see this issue on a ballot, it is more than the 41.7 percent of conservatives who disagree and indicates a shift in Oklahoma that is beyond party lines.

"You look at medicinal marijuana like a prohibition vote," Gaddie said. "It's not that you have the votes to overturn prohibition; it's that the public is willing to consider the issue and willing to express their opinion on it."

Read more about this issue at OKGazette.com