A solid majority of Republican voters in Georgia support the use of cannabis oil to treat medical conditions, according to a new poll released Monday by Rep. Allen Peake, the state Legislature’s strongest backer of medical cannabis.

The survey’s 511 respondents, who identified themselves as likely Republican primary voters, found 77 percent of them approved of legalizing the medical use of cannabis oil. In the poll, the strongest support came from younger voters. In addition, more women than men approved using the plant for medical purposes, by 80 percent to 75 percent.

“The data shows that Georgians are compassionate people who do not want to see sick people suffer needlessly when a safe and effective treatment is available,” said Peake, who sponsored legislation the General Assembly passed two years ago that allows use of cannabis oil to treat certain medical conditions.

Peake added nearly 3,000 Georgians have registered to receive prescriptions for cannabis oil since his bill became law. However, he believes lawmakers should take the next step and legalize in-state cultivation of medical cannabis.

Twenty-nine other states already allow medical cannabis cultivation.

“Georgia is behind the rest of the nation…because we have not updated our laws,” Peake said.

The Georgia General Assembly approved limited medical cannabis use in 2015 for patients with specific medical conditions such as cancer, Parkinson’s disease and epilepsy. Earlier this year, legislators expanded the list of conditions that qualify.

The survey’s results were similar to those found by an Atlanta Journal-Constitution poll published in January, that showed 71 percent of voters were comfortable with in-state cultivation, but more than half of those surveyed opposed legalizing cannabis for social use.

“I did the poll because I wanted to be confident of what I already saw: Hard-core Republican voters do significantly support this issue,” Peake said. “It’s a clear indication the momentum on this is clearly shifting on this topic as more and more people see the benefit of medical cannabis oil.”