Senator Fred Akshar released the results of his latest online survey asking people to weigh in on the Governor’s proposal to legalize recreational marijuana. The results showed that within the 52nd Senate District, 48% of respondents support the proposal, 46% oppose it and 5% are undecided. Outside of the district, New York respondents supported the measure 75% to 23% with 2% undecided. Many in support of legalization cited potential benefits including increased revenue for the state, reduced incarceration rates and reduced addiction and use of harder drugs like heroin. Opponents of the proposal cited potential dangers of marijuana users driving under the influence, marijuana as a gateway drug to harder drugs like heroin, along with negative affects to public health and safety.
