Over the past six years, polls have been fairly evenly disbursed among various geographic regions of the United States. Ten surveys questioned national samples, with more national surveys conducted in 1997 than in any of the other years.

Not surprisingly, the prevalence of polls follows legislative or initiative activity. For example, in 1998 when five states (Alaska, Arizona, Oregon, Nevada, and Washington) passed medical marijuana ballot initiatives, studies were fielded in four of them (Alaska, Arizona, Oregon, and Nevada) the month before the election. Similarly, ballot initiatives in Colorado, Maine, and Nevada were all preceded by public opinion polls that predicted their success.

The passage of Hawaii’s medical marijuana bill in June 2000 was likely the result of a February 2000 poll (#31) reporting that 77% of respondents favored such legislation.