The coronavirus has prompted federal governments to reconsider legal marijuana, with some of them classifying dispensaries as essential businesses.
The COVID-19 pandemic has prompted states with legal marijuana programs to think quickly about the status of the drug and whether it’s considered an “essential” business or not. This qualification ensures that dispensaries remain open while other non-essential business close in order to prevent the spread of the virus.
A new poll conducted by YouGov asked more than 5,000 American adults about their opinions on this issue, documenting their results.
Most Americans (53%) believe medical marijuana dispensaries should be considered essential services.
Democrats (62%) are more likely than Independents (52%) and Republicans (43%) to say this.
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More than half (53%) of responders agreed that marijuana dispensaries should be considered “essential” during the coronavirus outbreak, which speaks to the progress that legal marijuana has made over a short span of time.
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Predictably, the poll showed that Democrats (62%) were more likely than Republicans (43%) to consider cannabis an essential service. (In February, a Gallup poll on cannabis consumption found that 24% of liberals reported consuming cannabis while only 4% of conservatives did.)
The largest demographic that approved of dispensaries as an essential business were those between the ages of 25-34. On the flip side, those who disapproved most were over the age of 55.
