Most Pennsylvania residents know someone addicted to opioids and support legalizing marijuana, survey finds

Pennsylvania residents weighed in on a range of health topics, including the Affordable Care Act, Medicare, opioids and the soda tax in a survey by the Muhlenberg College Public Health Program and the Allentown school’s Institute of Public Opinion.

The telephone survey was conducted between March 8 and April 15, and included 405 randomly selected Pennsylvania residents. Responses were weighted by age, race, gender and education level to be representative of the state population.

A report on the group’s findings, including the complete survey script, is available on the college’s website. Here are a few of the highlights.

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About 60 percent of survey respondents wanted Congress to protect the Affordable Care Act, either keeping it intact or expanding it. About 30 percent said they’d like to see the law weakened or repealed entirely.

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Survey respondents overwhelmingly said they think the federal government is responsible for ensuring people have access to health care. And 64 percent said they would support the government offering a “Medicare type” health insurance plan to compete with private insurance plans.

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Sixty-four percent of survey respondents said they knew someone who has struggled with an opioid addiction, up from 52 percent in 2016.

For the first time in the survey’s seven-year history, a majority of respondents said they support legalizing marijuana use for any purpose. In 2013, the first year Muhlenberg conducted the survey, 33 percent of respondents said they supported legalization.

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Survey respondents were divided on whether they support taxes on junk food, such as Philadelphia’s soda tax.