If last week’s poll is any guide, a majority of Jalisco citizens approve of the legalization of marijuana use for medical purposes but less than half want to relax current laws on recreational use.
A total of 13,662 citizens voted in the five-day poll held in all 125 of Jalisco’s municipalities, José Tomás Figueroa Padilla, president of the Jalisco Electoral Institute (IEPC), announced Wednesday.
Figueroa said 8,303 people voted in favor of allowing patients to keep under 150 grams of marijuana and up to five pot plants in their homes.
The 60.77 percent figure was not reflected in the second question asked in the survey: Should the legal amount of marijuana a person can have in their possession be raised from five to 30 grams? In fact, the percentages were almost exactly reversed: 39.09 voting yes and 60.90 percent no.
The non-binding plebiscite was the brainchild of state Congressman Enrique Velázquez González of the leftist Partido de la Revolución Democrática (PRD).
Velázquez hopes to submit legislation regarding the use of marijuana to the legislature in the coming weeks.
IEPC provided more than 250 electronic voting urns for the poll, which cost around 300,000 pesos to carry out. The PRD financed the exercise but expects to be reimbursed by the Jalisco State Congress.
Chapala
According to PRD spokesperson Gabriela Estrada, 247 people voted in the marijuana poll in Chapala, where an electronic urn was installed outside city hall.
To question one, whether marijuana should be permitted for medicinal use, 193 voted yes and 54 no. To question two, whether the legal possession amount for recreational use should be raised, 141 voted no and 106 yes.
Commented Chapala Mayor Joaquin Huerta: “Marijuana combined in alcohol with arnica and salt is known as an effective old-fashioned home remedy to treat bruises and muscular inflammation. I respect persons who choose to use marijuana, but I’m opposed to legalization for recreational purposes.”