This post was written by Hatchet reporter Jeffrey Caves

If states put legalizing marijuana on the ballot in November, more voters will likely turn out, a GW Battleground poll released this week found.

The poll found that if legalization was on the ballot, 39 percent of respondents said they would be “much more likely” to turn out – a feat for midterm elections where citizens are less likely to vote.

Marijuana will be on the ballot in Florida, and advocates are pushing to have voters decide on the issue in several other states as well.

About 73 percent of respondents now favor legalizing medical marijuana and a majority also approve of decriminalizing marijuana possession, according to the poll released this week with The Tarrance Group and Lake Research Partners.

The interest in marijuana comes at a time when 76 percent of respondents believe the next generation will be worst off and 64 percent said the country is headed in the wrong direction, according to the poll.

The poll underscored the lack of enthusiasm going into the election, with 64 percent of Republicans saying they were extremely likely to vote, compared with 57 percent of Democrats.

“As we head into the 2014 midterm congressional elections, voters are in a sour mood,” said GW professor Christopher Arterton, who lead the poll.

The Battleground poll surveyed 1,000 likely voters by phone this month.