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. - --- MAP posted-by: