Community Corner

Connecticut Voters Favor Medical Marijuana, Sunday Liquor Sales and the Death Penalty In Latest Q Poll

A sampling of 1,622 Connecticut voters strongly support medical marijuana, abolition of the state's Blue Laws and keeping the death penalty.

 

The latest Quinnipiac University Poll, released Wednesday, finds Connecticut voters strongly in support of medical marijuana, Sunday liquor sales and the death penalty. 

By a margin of 68-27 percent, Connecticut voters believe adults should be allowed to use marijuana for medical purposes, with a physician's prescription, according to the poll. No gender, partisan, income, age or education group surveyed was opposed to the idea. 

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"Medical marijuana is supported by Connecticut voters across the board," Quinnipiac University Poll Director Douglas Schwartz said in a press release accompanying the findings Wednesday. 

Connecticut voters also want to be able to purchase alcohol on Sundays, according to the poll. Those surveyed approved of that proposal by a margin of 54-42 percent, although those findings did fall along gender and partisan lines. Males support the idea of Sunday alcohol sales by a margin of 60-37 percent, while women are split on the idea 48-48 percent; Democrats support the proposal 56-41 percent, independents support it 57-40 percent, while Republicans are split with 47 percent in support and 48 percent opposed. 

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"Connecticut may be the land of steady habits but no Sunday liquor sales is one habit voters are ready to kick," Schwartz said. 

But 63 percent of those surveyed said they do not believe should be allowed to sell beer, although 43 percent of those surveyed said supermarkets should be allowed to sell beer and wine, another 32 percent favor supermarkets selling only beer as they do now, and 20 percent would like to be able to buy beer, wine and liquor from supermarkets. 

"Voters would like supermarkets to be allowed to sell wine, but don't want to see convenience stores at gas stations sell beer," Schwartz said. "Perhaps this is out of concern for making it too easy to drink and drive."

Connecticut voters also strongly came down in support of the death penalty, calling a legislative proposal to abolish it a "bad idea" by a margin of 62-31 percent. Women want Connecticut to keep the death penalty by a margin of 58-33 percent, men support the death penalty by a margin of 66-29 percent.Democrats surveyed supported repealing the death penalty by a margin of 48-44 percent, while those who classified themselves as "liberals" supported its abolition by a margin of 48-45 percent. All other groups surveyed supported the death penalty. 

If the death penalty is repealed in Connecticut, 58 of those surveyed said those inmates already sentenced to death should be executed, while 35 percent opposed those executions. 

"As we've seen in past Quinnipiac University polls, Connecticut voters still think abolishing the death penalty is a bad idea," Schwartz said. "No doubt the gruesome Cheshire murders still affect public opinion regarding convicts on death row."  

The poll, conducted from March 14 through March 19, surveyed 1,622 registered voters and has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.4 percentage points. 


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