cannabisnews.com: Majority of Republicans Support MJ Legalization
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Majority of Republicans Support MJ Legalization
Posted by CN Staff on October 25, 2017 at 08:21:47 PT
By Christopher Ingraham
Source: Washington Post 
Washington, D.C. -- For the first time in nearly 50 years of Gallup polling on the question, a majority of American Republicans say they support marijuana legalization.Fifty-one percent of Republicans surveyed by Gallup this month said they support legalization, up sharply from 42 percent a year ago. Even larger majorities of independents (67 percent) and Democrats (72 percent) are in favor of legal marijuana.
Overall, 64 percent of Americans now support legalization, the highest percentage ever in Gallup polling.“The trajectory of Americans' views on marijuana is similar to that of their views on same-sex marriage over the past couple of decades,” Gallup said in its analysis of the data. “On both issues, about a quarter supported legalization in the late 1990s, and today 64% favor each.”Nationwide support for legalization first hit 50 percent in 2011, just ahead of historic votes in Colorado and Washington state to legalize recreational use of the drug in 2012. Since then, voters in six more states and the District of Columbia have approved recreational marijuana laws.More than 20 percent of the U.S. population now lives in a state where marijuana use is fully legal, and even strong opponents of legalization concede that norms around marijuana use are shifting.“The national discussion surrounding marijuana enforcement efforts continues to evolve,” the federal Drug Enforcement Administration wrote in its just-released 2017 National Drug Threat Assessment. Despite the drug's widespread availability even in states where it hasn't been legalized, marijuana remains at the bottom of law enforcement agencies' drug priorities.Meanwhile, many of opponents' fears about marijuana legalization don't appear to be panning out. States that have legalized pot are also beginning to reap some of the benefits of the policy change, including job growth, tax revenue and even some evidence of slowing in the opiate epidemic.To be sure, legalization has also brought some challenges. The popularity of potent edible products proved to be a surprise, prompting lawmakers to scramble to regulate them. Drug-impaired driving will continue to be a concern, as will medical issues among people who overdo it.The sharp shift in Republican voters' views on pot is the most significant finding in the Gallup poll, coming during a time of increased federal skepticism of marijuana legalization efforts. Attorney General Jeff Sessions has asked lawmakers to undo federal protections for medical marijuana, repeatedly calling it a “dangerous drug.”But greater support for legalization could complicate any administration efforts to crack down on pot. "Attorney General Jeff Sessions could find himself out of step with his own party if the current trends continue,” Gallup wrote.Christopher Ingraham writes about politics, drug policy and all things data. He previously worked at the Brookings Institution and the Pew Research Center.Source: Washington Post (DC)Author: Christopher IngrahamPublished: October 25, 2017Copyright: 2017 Washington Post CompanyContact: letters washpost.com Website: http://www.washingtonpost.com/ URL: http://drugsense.org/url/k5U3DlW6CannabisNews -- Cannabis Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/cannabis.shtml 
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Comment #8 posted by afterburner on October 27, 2017 at 15:39:23 PT
Good Graphs of Popular Political Support
POLITICS.
A Record High 64% of Americans Say Cannabis Should be Legal.GAGE PEAKE.
October 25, 2017
https://www.leafly.com/news/politics/a-record-high-64-of-americans-say-cannabis-should-be-legal?utm_campaign=Roost&utm_source=Roost&utm_medium=push
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Comment #7 posted by The GCW on October 25, 2017 at 18:54:35 PT
Note:
Note:Majority of republicans support RE-legalizing cannabis, however, that is not the case with repub politicians. How much longer till republican politicians support the will of their constituents?-You know; support the will of the people???... 
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Comment #6 posted by Hope on October 25, 2017 at 15:25:04 PT
Had Enough
"I remember hearing that a time will come where politicians NOT supporting cannabis reform will be looked at so to speak as "out of step"...Brothers and sisters...after all these years/decades...here we are...Yepper!!!"Exactly! It seems like I recall when the Gallup Poll used to say only twelve percent for legalization. We've watched it slowly and surely rise for sure.
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Comment #5 posted by Hope on October 25, 2017 at 15:21:38 PT
MMmm. Pardon me.
I seem to have misread the poll results. Fifty one percent is probably more accurate than sixty four.... which is the number for the population in general. 
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Comment #4 posted by Hope on October 25, 2017 at 15:15:32 PT
That sounds about right
for the Republicans I know and I would say seventy five percent of the people I know are Republicans. Maybe ten percent are Democrats and five percent are Libertarians or Independents... as I am, the rest just stay quiet. But sixty four percent of Republicans being for legalization sounds about right. As we get closer and closer to legalization, some of the prohibitionists are easier to see more clearly. Of course, there are those that have a job that is benefited by prohibition of cannabis. It's nearly impossible for them to see the truth when it means less income for them if prohibition ends. Not to mention the power they might feel when they can ruin someone's life over an herb.A weird one I've spoken to in recent years is that guy that thinks laws like this, even though it's unjust, are helpful for "controlling" the people, just for good measure... to show they can, or to intimidate. A power play. They think that government should practice such techniques. Aaargh! The exact opposite of freedom and liberty!I think unjust laws and enforcement and a lack of common sense or judgement when a law is made or enforced creates disrespect for law.A law that is a lie or unjust does not deserve respect. That's crazy to think otherwise.The laws prohibiting cannabis and preventing people having access to it or using it are unjust. 
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Comment #3 posted by Had Enough on October 25, 2017 at 14:09:52 PT
Dinosaurs...
Sessions...One of the last dinosaurs thrashing the tail of the prohibitionists...They're done...The genie is out of the bottle and staying out...Still a ways to go yet...a long way...but we've already came a long way...I remember hearing that a time will come where politicians NOT supporting cannabis reform will be looked at so to speak as "out of step"...Brothers and sisters...after all these years/decades...here we are...Yepper!!!
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Comment #2 posted by Sam Adams on October 25, 2017 at 12:25:02 PT
still looking for the boogeyman
>>>The popularity of potent edible products proved to be a surprise, prompting lawmakers to scramble to regulate them.It was a surprise for one year in Colorado, after which some very simple container/packaging rules were drafted and implemented, completely solving any problems, which did not occur in other states.This "problem" was solved in the only place it occured back in 2013. It's now 2017. Prohibitionists are desparately seeking traction on anything they can find, as their wheels spin out on the black ice of reality!
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Comment #1 posted by HempWorld on October 25, 2017 at 10:04:30 PT
Attorney General Jeff Sessions could find himself 
out of step with his own party (and with everybody else, all other human beings).You are fired!
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