Good news for supporters of medical marijuana in Georgia | www.myajc.com

McLaughlin & Associates, whose clients include nearly ever statewide-elected Republican in Georgia, conducted the poll Nov. 23-24. It asked 400 likely voters a variety of questions about legalization of medical marijuana. Among the key findings:

• 80 percent of Georgians support legalization of marijuana for medical purposes, even if the drug includes higher levels of THC, the ingredient in marijuana that produces a high.

• 27 percent support full legalization of marijuana for recreational use.

• 17 percent oppose any legalization of marijuana.

• 85 percent support legalization of marijuana if the medication “would not get a person high.”

The poll was paid for by Surterra Holdings, an Atlanta investment firm interested in the business possibilities of medical marijuana.

Surterra CEO Jake Bergmann and chief operating officer Wes Van Dyk have met with Peake and a host of other state lawmakers to encourage the General Assembly to tap the economic potential of legalization. If the bill passes, Bergmann sees the potential of $200 million a year in new state revenue as companies are created to grow, cultivate, process and sell the new medications.

Even they were surprised by the poll results.

“We knew it would poll over 50 percent,” Bergmann said. “We were shocked. Our pollster was shocked.”

Bergman and Van Dyk, who have hired the high-powered lobbyist firm McGuire Woods, said the poll shows support for medical marijuana extends beyond what Peake proposed this past legislative session. That bill, which died in the session’s final days, would have only legalized an oil derived from marijuana to treat certain seizure disorders.

This time, however, the pair is advocating for a broader bill that would also allow the use of medical marijuana to help patients with cancer, glaucoma, chronic pain and other conditions.

Peake has pre-filed his bill for 2015, but it’s merely a shell at this point, with few details. Peake, who led a legislative study committee on the subject over the summer, has not yet said how broad his final bill will be. But he appeared to endorse most of Bergman and Van Dyk’s proposals at the study committee’s final meeting earlier this month.