As shocking as the news that water is indeed wet, a new Gallup poll says that a majority of Americans are pro-legalization.
Per Marijuana.com
With cannabis already legal in several US states, a recent Gallup poll found that 64 percent of Americans are saying its use should be made legal. The poll also found, that for the first time, a majority of Republicans also support marijuana legalization – by 51 percent.
Fred Smoller, a political science professor at Chapman University in Orange, California, attributes the numbers to the generation polled.
“Woodstock,” he said. “That generation [baby boomers]… it’s a cohort, they’ve always viewed marijuana differently than the people before them. … They grew up laughing at ‘Reefer Madness.’”
He said while some attitudes might have changed regarding marijuana, the difference lies in the demographic.
According to a Gallup news article, Gallup first asked adults nationally about their views on marijuana in 1969, when only 12 percent were in support of legalization.
In the recent study, results are based on phone interviews conducted Oct. 5, 2017, to Oct. 11, 2017, of a random sample of 1,028 adults 18 and older from all 50 US states and Washington, DC.
Whether this increase in marijuana legalization support will soon lead to federal legalization remains to be seen. Smoller doesn’t think so.
“No,” he said. “The laws will remain on the books but won’t be enforced. This allows electeds to appeal to different groups. It’s kinda like [former President Bill]Clinton saying he smoked pot but didn’t inhale.”
On the political level, there is a steady stream of activity in regard to the topic of marijuana. Most recently, Trump announced that he too is all for cannabis legalization. So Americans and Trump might be on the same page about in the first time.