News Buzz: 64% of Americans Support Legalizing Cannabis

Washington #BeltwayBrief Oct 25, 2017 @ 04:01 AM             

Poll: Legal Marijuana Support At Record High In U.S 

Tom Angell , Contributor

Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own

According to a report in Forbes yesterday, nearly two out of three Americans now support legalizing marijuana cannabis.

The 64% of Americans who say cannabis should be legal in a new Gallup poll released on Wednesday represents the highest level of support in the organization's 48 years of polling on the topic. 

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Americans continue to warm to legalizing marijuana, with 64% now saying its use should be made legal. This is the highest level of public support Gallup has found for the proposal in nearly a half-century of measurement.

The latest figure, based on an Oct. 5-11 Gallup poll, follows shifts in the U.S. legal landscape regarding marijuana since Gallup's 2016 measure. While still illegal at the federal level, the issue was featured on a number of state ballot initiatives in 2016, and with eight states and the District of Columbia having fully legalized marijuana, more than one in five Americans live in a state where they can legally enjoy use of the drug.
Majority of Republicans Now Support Legalizing Marijuana

Bottom Line
As efforts to legalize marijuana at the state level continue to yield successes, public opinion, too, has shifted toward greater support. The Department of Justice under the current Republican administration has been perceived as hostile to state-level legalization. But Attorney General Jeff Sessions could find himself out of step with his own party if the current trends continue. Rank-and-file Republicans' views on the issue have evolved just as Democrats' and independents' have, though Republicans remain least likely to support legalizing pot.
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