Pubdate: Thu, 05 Jan 2017
Source: Baltimore Sun (MD)
Copyright: 2017 The Baltimore Sun Company
Contact:  http://www.baltimoresun.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/37
Author: Erin Cox, Michael Dresser

POLL: 41 PERCENT OF MARYLAND RESIDENTS PERSONALLY TOUCHED BY OPIOID EPIDEMIC

Among Baltimore residents, 68 percent said they had been affected by
opioid epidemic.

A new poll found 41 percent of Maryland residents said the escalating
opioid epidemic has directly affected them or someone they know over the
past five years.

Another 42 percent who participated in the Gonzales Poll said they had not
personally felt the impact of the deadly wave of heroin and other
overdoses that has swept through urban and rural parts of Maryland.
Seventeen percent gave no response. Among Baltimore city residents, 68
percent said they had been affected -- far more than anywhere else in
Maryland.

The poll, released Thursday, also confirmed previous surveys showing that
Republican Gov. Larry Hogan is extremely popular among Maryland voters
while GOP President-elect Donald Trump is not. Hogan's job approval rating
stands at 74 percent. Thirty percent have a favorable view of Trump
compared with 56 percent unfavorable.

Other findings show that Marylanders favor legal use of marijuana for
medical purposes by 70-29 percent. But only 29 percent support legalized
sports gambling, compared to 65 percent who are opposed.
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