New Poll: 86% of Americans Support Medical Cannabis Legalization, Majority Also Supports Recreational Legalization

New Poll: 86% of Americans Support Medical Cannabis Legalization, Majority Also Supports Recreational Legalization

A new CBS News Poll – conducted by the polling firm Social Science Research Solutions – has found that a majority of Americans support the legalization of recreational cannabis. This marks the first time a CBS News Poll has found majority support for the issue.

According to the poll, 51% of Americans support legalization, with 44% in opposition. In April, the last time a CBS News Poll posed the question of cannabis legalization, 45% were in support, marking a 6% increase in roughly 9 months.

In addition to strong support for recreational cannabis legalization, the poll found overwhelming support for medical cannabis legalization, with 86% in favor of allowing physicians to prescribe cannabis for medical purposes.

Here are a few notes about the poll from CBS.

• Support for legalizing marijuana use has grown among Americans under 44, and now most Americans 45 to 64 think marijuana should be legal (55 percent; in April this age group was divided).  The only age group that still opposes legalizing marijuana use is seniors 65 and older.

• Support has increased among both men and women, but there remains a gender gap.  Most men (57 percent) think marijuana use should be made legal, while fewer women (46 percent) think so.

• Most Democrats (59 percent), independents (54 percent), liberals (72 percent), and moderates (54 percent), support legalizing marijuana use.

• However, most Republicans (61 percent) and conservatives (61 percent) oppose legalizing marijuana, though support has risen among these groups as well.

• Support for legalizing marijuana use has risen six points among Americans earning under $100K a year (50 percent now vs. 44 percent), and 12 points among those earning $100K or more (64 percent now vs. 52 percent).

 

This poll certainly isn’t the first to find that a majority of Americans support cannabis legalization, but it demonstrates that support isn’t waning, and is actually growing rapidly.

– TheJointBlog

New National Poll: Majority Supports Recreational Cannabis Legalization, 86% Support Medical Cannabis