New polling data goes against previous results, shows marijuana legalization language with lower approval numbers in Missouri

For the first time this year, polling data shows significant opposition to adult use marijuana legalization in Missouri.

The results from a recent Remington Research Group and Missouri Scout poll show just 43% of respondents in favor of marijuana legalization while showing 47% against the measure.

Other polling has consistently shown strong support in favor of marijuana legalization this year. Two separate in-state polls have previously shown 62% support for adult use in the state.

This poll marks a decidedly different turn. 

The demographic make-up of the poll could play an important role in the results, according to some political insiders.

41% of the survey respondents were identified as being from St. Louis, an area that has been consistently plagued by a crime wave this summer involving burglaries at legal marijuana dispensaries. In recent weeks those crimes have escalated, with vehicles being used as battering rams against buildings and shots being fired in multiple instances.

Additionally, 61% of the respondents identified as ‘conservative’ with only 13% describing their ideology as progressive.

The news of the burglaries has been amplified by the frequency and escalation of the crimes, saturating the state’s largest media market with negative associations between marijuana and crime since mid-July.

Missourians overwhelmingly passed medical marijuana legalization in 2018 with 66% voting in support of the measure. 

In the time since the state has rolled out a program that has been widely looked upon as a success. The Missouri medical marijuana program has grown to 200,000 patients, with over 26,000 of those patients approved for home cultivation. The state now boasts over 170 active dispensaries, helping to ensure access to medical marijuana for patients across Missouri. Additionally, medical marijuana legalization has created thousands of new jobs in the state, with over 9,000 agents authorized to work in medical marijuana facilities in Missouri. To date, the program has brought in over $450 million dollars in retail sales.