Lewis County split on sale of marijuana in their neighborhood, survey says

WATERTOWN, N.Y. (WWNY) - When it comes to the sale of recreational marijuana in Lewis County, residents are split down the middle.

Nearly 43 percent support it and 43 percent oppose it. But what if farmers could grow pot?

“People are way more saying ‘yeah we support that,’” Joel LaLone said. “That was interesting to see.”

LaLone is research director at Jefferson Community College’s Center for Community Studies. The center’s 50 students conducted the 2020 Lewis County survey virtually.

They spoke with more than 470 county residents.

“We were happy to see that folks were very pleased with the response that they’ve gotten locally,” LaLone said.

Between April and October, residents’ approval for the county government’s response to COVID went from 78 up to 82 percent.

Meanwhile, the number of residents who said they were satisfied with former President Donald Trump, the federal government, as well as the CDC’s response dropped by 6 percentage points, while approval of Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the state’s response dropped by 12 percent.

The survey shows that a majority of residents responded that they are pro-Second Amendment rights, believe systemic racism and social injustice are major problems in the country, and had no problems with same-sex relationships.

Slightly more than half of responders say that abortion is a woman’s right to choose.

“If I had to characterize in one sentence what the overall goal of this type of study and exercise is, it would be just that, to better understand your community and the residents,” LaLone said.

About a quarter of those surveyed say their financial situation has gotten worse, however, overall residents rate their quality of life good or excellent.

See the full survey below:

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