--- description: Most Americans don't think medical marijuana should be used by or in the presence of children, a new poll shows. title: Medical Marijuana: Poll Shows Opposition to Pot for Kids image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1794fd0e495a2cbd/6987ebd6cd1bba12096f908d/183842907-2-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Health](/section/health/) ## Health Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [medicine](/tag/medicine/) ## medicine Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Most Americans Think Medical Marijuana Shouldn't Be Used By Kids, Poll Says by [Alexandra Sifferlin](/author/alexandra-sifferlin/) ## Alexandra Sifferlin Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 20, 2015 2:09 PM CUT  Cannabis plant Cannabis plantGetty Images by [Alexandra Sifferlin](/author/alexandra-sifferlin/) ## Alexandra Sifferlin Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 20, 2015 2:09 PM CUT While most Americans think medical marijuana should be allowed for adults, a majority says the drug shouldn’t be used by or in the presence of children, [a new poll](http://mottnpch.org/reports-surveys/support-medical-marijuana-use-lower-kids-adults "undefined") shows. The C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital National Poll on Children’s Health found that 63% of American adults think their state should allow the use of medical marijuana among adults. But only 36% think it should be allowed for children and teenagers under age 18\. The poll also found that 80% think adults should not use medical marijuana in front of children. Ten percent know someone with a medical marijuana card or they have their own. Close to half of the states currently allow the use of medical marijuana. “Our findings suggest that not only is the public concerned about the use of medical marijuana among children, but that the majority of Americans worry that even exposure to it may be harmful to kids’ health,” Dr. Matthew M. Davis, director of the National Poll on Children’s Health and a professor at University of Michigan Medical School, [said in a statement](http://www.eurekalert.org/pub%5Freleases/2015-04/uomh-mas041715.php "undefined"). “As is typical with anything involving health, the public’s standards are much higher when it comes to protecting children’s health.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3828072/medical-marijuana-pot-children/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3828072/medical-marijuana-pot-children/"},"headline":"Most Americans Think Medical Marijuana Shouldn't Be Used By Kids, Poll Says","datePublished":"2015-04-20T14:09:17.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T06:30:50.308Z","description":"And 80% think adults shouldn't use medical marijuana in front of children","url":"https://time.com/3828072/medical-marijuana-pot-children/","keywords":["medicine","Marijuana","medical marijuana","kids","legal","Poll"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1794fd0e495a2cbd/6987ebd6cd1bba12096f908d/183842907-2-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Alexandra Sifferlin","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/alexandra-sifferlin/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1794fd0e495a2cbd/6987ebd6cd1bba12096f908d/183842907-2-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"183842907","caption":"183842907","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/medicine/","name":"medicine"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3828072/medical-marijuana-pot-children/","name":"Most Americans Think Medical Marijuana Shouldn't Be Used By Kids, Poll Says"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Inside the World of Medical Marijuana for Kids","description":"The story of a family's illegal cross-country drive to transport marijuana oil for their epileptic 3-year-old daughter. 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