Latest News Poll: Pa. Majority Favor Legalizing Same-Sex Marriage, Medical Pot

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - A new poll shows that a large majority of Pennsylvania voters favor legalizing marijuana for medical purposes, but residents are divided over whether possession of even small amounts for recreational use should be legalized.

Survey results released Monday by Connecticut-based Quinnipiac University showed 85 percent believe adults should be allowed to use pot for medical purposes if their doctor prescribes it.

But voters are narrowly split on whether possession of small amounts of the drug should be legal for recreational use and whether pot is a gateway to hard drugs.

Asked whether they had ever tried marijuana, 55 percent of the respondents said no and 44 percent said yes.

Pennsylvania voters support 57 - 37 percent a law allowing same-sex couples to marry. Again, there are partisan, gender and age differences:

Support is 74 - 22 percent among Democrats and 58 - 35 percent among independent voters, with Republicans opposed 59 - 36 percent;

Men support same-sex marriage 53 - 41 percent, while women support it 60 - 34 percent;

Voters 18 to 29 years old support it 80 - 15 percent, while voters over 65 years old are divided, with 44 percent in favor and 48 percent opposed.

The poll involved telephone interviews with 1,405 voters. The sampling error margin is plus or minus 2.6 percentage points.