Fifty-nine percent of residents now support allowing adults to possess small amounts of marijuana for personal use, while 37 percent are opposed, the poll from Monmouth University found. That’s an 11-point swing from Monmouth poll results four years earlier, when support stood at 48 percent and opposition at 47 percent.
But the shift doesn’t mean Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy’s push to legalize marijuana in New Jersey is a sure thing, as key lawmakers and interest groups continue to resist legislation that would do more than expand the state’s existing medical marijuana program and decriminalize possession of small amounts of the drug.
And New Jersey residents remain deeply concerned about another drug issue: the opioid epidemic. Nearly nine in 10 say addiction to opioids is a “very serious” problem in the U.S., and 59 percent believe the state is not doing enough to address the crisis, the poll found.