A majority of Hawaii residents favor legalizing recreational cannabis to increase tax revenue for the state but are split about legalizing gambling for the same reason, according to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser’s latest Hawaii Poll.
Of the respondents, 58% said they supported legalizing recreational cannabis to generate tax revenue, while 34% were against it and 8% were undecided.
Poll respondent Elizabeth Toledo from Wailuku supports legalization.
“There’s people here in Hawaii that is going to smoke it anyway, and it’s a prime area to grow it. So I would think they would make a really good revenue,” she said. “They should try to make some money off of it instead of making it on the black market.”
Hawaii in 2019 decriminalized carrying up to three grams of cannabis, meaning that if a person is caught by the police, they will get a violation and fined up to $130. Penalties for a violation do not include any imprisonment.
The state also legalized medical cannabis in 2000 but did not set up a dispensary program until 2015.
There was an effort to legalize recreational cannabis during the last legislative session. The state Senate passed a measure that would have allowed people to possess up to 30 grams of cannabis. However, the state House of Representatives did not hear the bill, and it stalled.
Men and those under age 50 were more likely to support recreational cannabis legalization, according to the poll, with 62% favoring legalization versus 54% of women. Sixty-eight percent of those under age 50 supported legalization.
Democrats supported legalization more than Republicans, answering 70% in support compared with 41%.
Gov. David Ige, a Democrat, has not been supportive of legalizing recreational cannabis. Of the top three Democrats running for governor in 2022, both Kai Kahele and Josh Green support legalization, but Vicky Cayetano does not.
Of the top Republican candidates running for governor, only BJ Penn supported legalizing recreational cannabis. Former Lt. Gov. James “Duke” Aiona and Gary Cordery were against legalization, while Heidi Tsuneyoshi said it should be left up to the public.
Mason-Dixon Polling & Strategy of Washington, D.C., conducted the poll July 12-17. A total of 800 registered Hawaii voters were interviewed statewide by landline telephone and cellphone. The margin for error is plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.
The response to legalizing gambling to generate tax revenue was more evenly split among respondents.
The Hawaii Poll found 45% supported legalizing gambling, while 50% were opposed.
The state Legislature this year introduced several measures related to legalizing gambling. Various proposals including establishing a state lottery system, allowing a casino on the top of the Hawai‘i Convention Center and permitting online fantasy gaming.
The tax revenue would have gone to the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands to address the long backlog of Native Hawaiians waiting for homes. However, none of the measures made it very far through the legislative process.
Male respondents were much more supportive of legalizing gambling than women, with 56% of men in support of legalizing gambling, compared with only 36% of women.
Poll respondents Stephen Stansel from Honolulu says he supports gambling legalization.
“It would bring in more revenue for the tourism and probably bring in a larger tourism crowd,” he said.
On the question of gambling legalization, voters of the two major parties were in rare agreement: Nearly 46% of Democrats support gambling legalization, compared with 45% of Republicans.
