Voters burned out on legislative plan for THC caps, new poll shows

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A strong majority consider plans to limit chemicals in cannabis to be a bad idea.

More than half of Florida voters don’t want THC caps on medical marijuana.

That’s according to findings from St. Pete Polls in a new survey commissioned by Florida Politics. The poll, taken March 22-24, found 61% of voters view limits on THC as a bad idea.

Of those, more than 32% were completely opposed, deeming the idea very bad, while 29% considered the concept somewhat bad.

There’s very little strong appetite for the bill even among supporters, with 22% calling THC caps somewhat good and just 17% who called the policy very good.

Momentum has been building in the Legislature for some type of regulation on the medical products. The House has seen pushes for THC caps for years, but Sen. Ray Rodrigues, an Estero Republican, has now been making the case in the upper chamber as well.

That’s despite vocal opposition by patient advocacy groups.

Notably, even a majority of Republicans remain cool to the idea, with 27% who deem caps a somewhat bad proposal and another 25% who view it as a very bad idea. About 24% consider the proposal a very good one, and 24% consider it somewhat good.

Democrats, 41% of whom call caps very bad and 29% who rate them somewhat bad, remain the most ardent opponents.

But an overwhelming number of independents also look at legislation harshly. About 32% call the idea somewhat bad and another 30% consider it very bad.

Voters in every racial demographic break down similarly in their thoughts on THC caps. The same goes for gender and age, though there’s more enthusiasm for caps among those age 70 and older than in any other group. About 28% of older voters consider caps a somewhat good idea and 20% see it as a very good one. But 30% say the proposal is somewhat bad and 22% call it very bad.

That tracks with other polling, patient advocates say.

“This survey is consistent with Florida for Care’s polling and — more importantly — consistent with the 71% of Floridians who voted to expand medical marijuana access and leave these sorts of decisions to doctors,” said Ben Pollera, Executive Director of Florida for Care.

Jacob Ogles

Jacob Ogles has covered politics in Florida since 2000 for regional outlets including SRQ Magazine in Sarasota, The News-Press in Fort Myers and The Daily Commercial in Leesburg. His work has appeared nationally in The Advocate, Wired and other publications. Events like SRQ’s Where The Votes Are workshops made Ogles one of Southwest Florida’s most respected political analysts, and outlets like WWSB ABC 7 and WSRQ Sarasota have featured his insights. He can be reached at [email protected].



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