cannabisnews.com: Marijuana Legalization Wins Solid Majority Support
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Marijuana Legalization Wins Solid Majority Support
Posted by CN Staff on October 25, 2012 at 07:04:22 PT
By Emily Swanson
Source: Huffington Post
USA -- A solid majority of Americans support legalizing marijuana, either with or without taxes and regulations similar to those imposed on alcoholic beverages, according to a new survey conducted by YouGov for The Huffington Post.The poll found that 51 percent of adults support legalizing, taxing and regulating marijuana like alcohol, while another 8 percent support legalizing pot but don't want it taxed and regulated like alcohol. Only 26 percent of respondents said that marijuana should not be legalized, and another 15 percent said they weren't sure.
Support for allowing doctors to prescribe medical marijuana for their patients was even higher than support for legalizing marijuana. Sixty-four percent of respondents said they either somewhat or strongly favored permitting doctors to prescribe small amounts of pot, and 23 percent said they were opposed. Support was highest among people aged 45 to 64 -- 74 percent of whom said they favored allowing doctors to prescribe marijuana -- and lowest among younger adults -- only 56 percent of whom favored it. Most other polls have found lower percentages of Americans in favor of legalizing marijuana, although they have shown a trend toward support and a few have found a majority in support. A Gallup poll released a year ago showed a bare 50 percent majority support for marijuana legalization. But a Public Religion Institute survey conducted this September found more opposed to than in favor of legalizing it. Other surveys last year, such as those by CBS News and Pew Research Center, also found higher levels of opposition than support. The difference in the results from the HuffPost/YouGov survey and other polls may be partly explained by their methodologies. While most of the other polls used live interviewers over the phone, the HuffPost/YouGov poll was conducted online. Differences in question wording may also be part of the explanation. Whereas most surveys have asked only whether respondents favored or opposed marijuana legalization, the HuffPost survey offered a third option of legalizing pot and then taxing and regulating like alcohol. That option may have garnered support from those inclined to favor legalization but concerned about the consequences, for example, when young people smoke it or when individuals use marijuana and then drive a car.In the HuffPost/YouGov survey, support for legalizing, taxing and regulating marijuana was steady across age groups, ranging from a low of 49 percent among those between ages 45 and 64 (roughly the Baby Boom generation) to 53 percent among those age 65 and older, with younger groups falling in between. Support for legalizing without taxes and regulations showed more variation. Those under age 29 and between ages 45 and 64 were most likely to support legalization pure and simple -- 9 percent and 13 percent, respectively -- while those between ages 30 and 44 and those age 65 and older were less likely to support it -- 5 percent and 3 percent, respectively. Those age 65 and older were most likely to oppose legalizing marijuana altogether, with 38 percent saying no.The poll found more variation among people of different political parties. Sixty-four percent of Democrats, 41 percent of Republicans and 47 percent of independents said they supported legalization with taxes and regulations. Eleven percent of independents, 6 percent of Republicans and 5 percent of Democrats supported legalization without regulations. Overall, opposition was highest among Republicans, but even so, more Republicans favored one of the two legalization options (47 percent) than opposed legalization entirely (44 percent). More respondents supported some form of legalization than said they had used pot themselves. A majority (54 percent) said they had never used the drug, while 38 percent said they had. Eight percent preferred not to say. Marijuana use was higher among male than female respondents. Forty-five percent of men said they had used marijuana in their lifetime, and 44 percent said they had not. By contrast, 33 percent of women said they had used marijuana, and 62 percent said they had not.The HuffPost/YouGov survey was conducted online on Oct. 23 among 1,000 U.S. adults and has a 4.2 percentage point margin of error. It used a sample drawn from YouGov's opt-in online panel that was selected to match the demographics and other characteristics of the adult U.S. population. Factors considered include age, race, gender, education, employment, income, marital status, number of children, voter registration, time and location of Internet access, interest in politics, religion, and church attendance.Source: Huffington Post (NY)Author: Emily SwansonPublished: October 24, 2012Copyright: 2012 HuffingtonPost.com, LLC Contact: scoop huffingtonpost.comWebsite: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/URL: http://drugsense.org/url/pO5JHbv7CannabisNews -- Cannabis Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/cannabis.shtml
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Comment #10 posted by afterburner on November 02, 2012 at 00:22:36 PT
fight_4_freedom #6
Six States To Decide On Marijuana Measures On Election Day.
Thursday, 01 November 2012.
Historic Propositions to Legalize Personal Use Amounts of Cannabis For All Adults Hold Double Digit Leads In Colorado and Washington.
"MICHIGAN: Voters in four cities - totaling over a million people - will also decide on Tuesday whether to legalize or depenalize the adult use of cannabis." more...
http://norml.org/news/2012/11/01/six-states-to-decide-on-marijuana-measures-on-election-day
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Comment #9 posted by The GCW on October 26, 2012 at 19:56:51 PT
Color ado green
Study: Over 200,000 Marijuana Arrests in Colorado Over Past 25 Yearshttp://www.cannabisculture.com/content/2012/10/26/Study-Over-200000-Marijuana-Arrests-Colorado-Over-Past-25-Years
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Comment #8 posted by The GCW on October 26, 2012 at 19:54:01 PT
Color ado green
Wanted: One state to go it alone on marijuana http://www.denverpost.com/carroll/ci_21856414/wanted-one-state-go-it-alone-marijuana
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Comment #7 posted by FoM on October 26, 2012 at 17:13:30 PT
fight_4_freedom
It's great to see you and I hope they all pass.
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #6 posted by fight_4_freedom on October 26, 2012 at 16:12:42 PT
5 Michigan cities voting on decrim
http://www.opposingviews.com/i/society/drug-law/michigan-four-cities-decide-marijuana-depenalization-ordinancesOld article, couldn't find anything on them collectively. But just know, Flint, Detroit, Kalamazoo, Grand Rapids, and Ypsilanti all voting on some sort of marijuana decrim for adults :) Michigan still moving along. If only we would've got the statewide initiative on the ballot.Hope all is well with all my favorite c-Newsers!
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Comment #5 posted by Hope on October 26, 2012 at 09:47:39 PT
Comment 3
I do, too. It ought to be anyway.
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #4 posted by observer on October 25, 2012 at 19:15:52 PT
the L-Word
re: "The poll found that 51 percent of adults support legalizing..."That's using the dread (and highly abstract)"L-Word", too. When the same question is reworded to include the more concrete concepts of arrest, jail, and prison, even fewer people support the present cannabis policy.Which is why the shrewd prohibitionist knows to not mention prison - or, if pressed, to weasel and deny, with something like: Available DOJ FY2011 stats show virtually no Caucasian females are serving hard time in Federal non-private prisons for marijuana possession, alone.
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Comment #3 posted by FoM on October 25, 2012 at 16:15:36 PT
Hope
I think that's good.
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #2 posted by Hope on October 25, 2012 at 11:29:52 PT
Off topic
Colin Powell endorses Barack Obama.
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #1 posted by FoM on October 25, 2012 at 10:45:20 PT
Ballot Initiative of the Day
Ballot Initiative of the Day: Will Recreational Marijuana Get the Green Light in Three States?URL: http://swampland.time.com/2012/10/25/ballot-initiative-of-the-day-could-recreational-marijuana-get-the-ok-in-three-states/
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