A marijuana harvester examines a bud going through a trimming machine in a rural area near Corvallis, Ore. (Photo: Andrew Selsky/AP)
The number of Americans who want legal weed keeps rising.
A Gallup poll released Wednesday showed that support for making marijuana legal in the United States has reached 60 percent — higher than it has ever been since Gallup first started asking this question in 1969, when only 12 percent of Americans supported legalization.
According to Gallup, support rose to 28 percent in the 1970s, slipped during the “Just Say No” campaign of the 1980s, stayed around 25 percent in the 1990s and rose to 31 percent at the turn of the century. A majority of Americans supported legalization for the first time in 2013, after Washington and Colorado legalized the drug for recreational use.
Health
U.S. support for legal pot reaches record high of 60%: Poll
Michael Walsh,Yahoo News 21 hours ago Comments Like Reblog on Tumblr Share Tweet Email
A marijuana harvester examines a bud that is going through a trimming machine in a rural area near Corvallis, Ore. (Photo: Andrew Selsky/AP)
A marijuana harvester examines a bud going through a trimming machine in a rural area near Corvallis, Ore. (Photo: Andrew Selsky/AP)
The number of Americans who want legal weed keeps rising.
A Gallup poll released Wednesday showed that support for making marijuana legal in the United States has reached 60 percent — higher than it has ever been since Gallup first started asking this question in 1969, when only 12 percent of Americans supported legalization.
According to Gallup, support rose to 28 percent in the 1970s, slipped during the “Just Say No” campaign of the 1980s, stayed around 25 percent in the 1990s and rose to 31 percent at the turn of the century. A majority of Americans supported legalization for the first time in 2013, after Washington and Colorado legalized the drug for recreational use.
During the past decade, support for legalization has increased in most subgroups, but it is still much higher among people between ages 18 and 34 (77 percent), Democrats (67 percent) and independents (70 percent) than people 55 or older (45 percent) and Republicans (42 percent).
The plant is already legal, to a varying extent, in four states — Alaska, Colorado, Oregon and Washington — and the District of Columbia.
Frank Newport, editor in chief of Gallup.com, told Yahoo News that it’s noteworthy that current support for legalization among young people is higher than it has been in the past.
“Young people under 35 have shifted the most over the last 10 years or more. That’s important,” Newport said. “That’s where social change usually occurs. Older people tend to be set in their ways, and that seems to be happening here as well.”
He said his researchers don’t always know what drives fluctuating public opinion — whether it’s support for marriage equality or President Obama’s approval rating — but his team often discusses possible reasons.
During the past decade, support for legalization has increased in most subgroups, but it is still much higher among people between ages 18 and 34 (77 percent), Democrats (67 percent) and independents (70 percent) than people 55 or older (45 percent) and Republicans (42 percent).
LINK TO THE REST OF THE STORY BELOW
https://www.yahoo.com/news/u-s-support-for-legal-pot-reaches-record-high-of-60-poll-205030250.html