New Poll: 57% of U.S. Adults Say Cannabis Should be Legal
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A large majority of adults in the U.S. say that cannabis should be legal for all uses, according to a new Pew Research Center poll sent to us by press release.
“The share of Americans who favor legalizing the use of marijuana continues to increase, says Abigail Geiger of the Pew Research Center. “Today, 57% of U.S. adults say the use of marijuana should be made legal, while 37% say it should be illegal. A decade ago, opinion on legalizing marijuana was nearly the reverse – just 32% favored legalization, while 60% were opposed.”
According to Geiger; “Young adults have disproportionately driven the shift toward public support of the drug, though support is rising among other generations as well. Millennials – those ages 18 to 35 in 2016 – are more than twice as likely to support legalization of marijuana as they were in 2006 (71% today, up from 34% in 2006), and are significantly more likely to support legalization than other generations.”
Support for marijuana legalization has also increased among members of Generation X and Baby Boomers (ages 36-51 and 52-70 in 2016, respectively). More than half of Gen Xers (57%) support legalization, a considerable jump from just 21% in 1990. A majority of Boomers (56%) also support legalization, up from just 17% in 1990.