Community | October 19, 2009 | 50 comments

Gallup poll finds record support for legalizing marijuana

source: http://rawstory.com/2009/10/gallup-poll-finds-record-support-legalizing-marijuana/

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New data from U.S. polling firm Gallup shows nearly half of Americans -- a record number -- are in support of legalizing and taxing marijuana for recreational use by adults.

RELATED: Two California airports have policy allowing passengers to fly with pot

The poll clearly illustrates a generational and political divide on the issue, with 78 percent of self-described liberals saying they would like to see the drug legalized and 72 percent of self-described conservatives being opposed. Gallup also found that 50 percent of Americans under 50-years-old are in favor of legalization, but just 28 percent of seniors agree.

Perhaps the most important demographic to advocates of legalization are the moderate voters, among whom 51 percent now support ending prohibition.

"The new findings come as the U.S. Justice Department has reportedly decided to loosen its enforcement of federal anti-marijuana laws by not pursuing individuals who buy or sell small amounts of the drug in conformity with their own states' medical marijuana laws," Gallup noted. "This seems likely to meet with U.S. public approval, as previous Gallup polling has found Americans generally sympathetic to legalizing marijuana for medical purposes. In 2003, 75% of Americans favored allowing doctors to legally prescribe marijuana to patients in order to reduce pain and suffering.
"Fourteen states allow some use of marijuana for medical purposes: Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington," the Associated Press reported on Monday.

Another of the poll's revelations is that among self-described Democrats, a majority in favor of legalization has emerged, with 54 percent supporting such a move and 45 percent opposed. Among self-described Republicans, the question is not even a contest: 28 percent are in favor, while 70 percent are opposed.

Gallup tracking data also showed that from 2006-2009, support for legalization grew more than at almost any time since the drug was banned, trending upward from 36 percent to 44 percent in just three years. Support for legalization grew most among women, up 12 percent since 2005; Democrats, up 13 percent since 2005; Liberals, up 15 percent since 2005; and throughout the western states, up 13 percent since 2005.

To compile the statistics, Gallup talked to 1,013 Americans nation-wide and assessed a margin of error at ±4 percent.

RELATED: Two California airports have policy allowing passengers to fly with pot
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50 comments // Gallup poll finds record support for legalizing marijuana

  • SleepDirt
  • sugarlilly
  • amandapandalol
  • sugarlilly
  • sugarlilly
    • 0
      sugarlilly  

    • you've got it presscore! in more recent sociology this is called the "forbidden fruit factor". humans want what they perceive they cannot have. the more rules and forbidden "things" a place has (whether that place be a workplace, home environment, a government, etc.), the more deviance and pain there is. i wish the fields of psychology & sociology were taken seriously, this is just painfully obvious.

    • 2 years ago
  • pandaman2105
  • hunzedog
  • trig3r
  • d_carter420
  • Conniepae
    • 0
      Conniepae  

    • Since the recent revelation that President Obama is changing the way the DEA goes after medical marijuana patients, several of the cable news programs are soliciting public opinion. The answers have varied, but they do not equate to fact.

      It's time to take this out of the 'court of public opinion'. Public opinion is not verifiable, people are free to give their opinion. While this is a step in the right direction, we should be talking about it. But, facts matter. Because someone in someones family had a drug problem, they want to equate our drug policies geared to their individual experiences. That's just wrong. If we used that criteria, most things would be illegal. Group punishment is not the answer. Facts are what matters. There are actual studies, which should be used as our guide, not spun opinions of the public.

      While it's titillating to hear the various opinions, our laws should not be based on opinion. Our laws should be based on fact. Opinion and fact being spun as equal, distorts the issue. Facts are what matters. Let's see some of the cable news shows have people who bring facts, not opinion. What they are doing today with getting opinions, isn't doing anything, but confusing those who are listening. People no longer separate opinion and fact, they are treated as equal. That's an "Assault on Reason".

      'The court of public opinion' has no place in a country, governed by laws. Facts matter! Opinions can be misguided, based on previous propaganda. Cannabis hemp facts were removed from American educational material and replaced with 'Reefer Madness', which is based on distortion, not fact.

    • 2 years ago
  • trig3r
  • panichead
  • Conniepae
  • dsidney
  • sugarlilly
  • Darevalo
    • 0
      Darevalo  

    • we need to find a way to get PSA's about REAL marijuana facts onto television.

      then those who oppose would better understand.

    • 2 years ago
  • hunzedog
  • PressCore
    • 0
      PressCore  

    • I fully support legalization but only if the proposed legal standard includes all preparations made from Cannabis whether it's sativa, indica, or ruderalis. In other words don't bother unless it's sincere, and encompassing the full gamut of Hashish, Hashish Oil and Jamacian #1. And please set some ground rules too ? I for one do not wish some god damned tourist blowing smoke in my face because they've come to the USA on a passport Visa to do here what they can't legaly do in their own country, and presume they have licence to act like animals because of it. The Dutch have similar problems in coping with lower class foreigners who can't fathom how to behave as though they were civilized humans when they enter Holland to obtain it. You must have seen them too by now. We call them the classless society because if they weren't categorized as lower class, they'd have no class at all. In fact they still have no class. In truth they could not beg, borrow or steal class if their lives depended on it. Class is something you develop in your person or not at all. Call me particular if you wish, but it's much of the reason why the herb has gotten an undeservedly bad rep by the closed minded.

    • 2 years ago
  • mrpibb19
  • mrpibb19
    • 0
      mrpibb19  

    • I'm all in favor of feeling good. But is it worth having a society of stupid pot smokers? The national IQ will definitely decrease with its legalization.

    • 2 years ago
  • jswiz
    • 0
      jswiz  
    • mrpibb19:

      thats just a stereo type , not all cannabis users are burn outs , some would say an uneducated comment would be stupid ,but who are they , and what do they know! a lie is still a lie even if everyone beleaves it .

    • 2 years ago
  • freshfish
    • 0
      freshfish  
    • mrpibb19:

      Stupid Stoners as opposed to Stupid Fat Ass Drunk Lazy Wife Beating Idiots

      I'll take stoners....

      Besides I have found that most people who have never tried pot tend to be so narrow minded that they might as well be stupid because they are so afraid of the world around them.

      So F.U.

      Yours Truly
      Stupid Stoner

    • 2 years ago
  • mrpibb19
    • 0
      mrpibb19  
    • mrpibb19:

      Uneducated? As in unexperienced? I have tried pot. I have smoked it for an extended period of time. With the experience I have, which therefore places me in the "educated column," I believe we're all better off not using it legally. For the self-acclaimed "stupid stoner," don't defend yourself with an uneducated claim that one is inexperienced and say a simple F.U. C'mon let's be civil and have an intelligent debate here.

    • 2 years ago
  • jswiz
    • 0
      jswiz  
    • mrpibb19:

      well then it go's without saying cannabis is not for everyone , but it dose not determind the out come of a persons IQ , it is ultimately up to the person how far ones scholastics will go , with or with out the use of cannabis.

    • 2 years ago
  • CreditFigaro
  • hunzedog
    • 0
      hunzedog  
    • mrpibb19:

      the president smoked weed, is he smart enough for you?\we ought to give out iq tests on this thing...everybody is so intolerant on here....its crazy ! what did potheads ever do to you ?

    • 2 years ago
  • mrpibb19
    • 0
      mrpibb19  
    • mrpibb19:

      How intelligent one is is relative. All I'm saying is, the smoke from marijuana, when it is inhaled, kills brain cells. Yes, one may be short-term stupid, but they are also killing a small amount of brain cells permanently, resulting in lack of motivation and inability to remember as well as one did. I'm not saying it makes you absolutely stupid-as-hell, but the point I'm trying to get across is that it has long term effects that I think the general population of the US shouldn't not be open to experience.

    • 2 years ago
  • sugarlilly
    • 0
      sugarlilly  
    • mrpibb19:

      oh mr pibb! alcohol & cigarettes are far more detrimental to the human mammal than cannabis. find me any science that disproves this. hell, living in a smoggy area is the equivalent of smoking cigarettes one's whole life, so should we outlaw smoggy cities? of course not. legalizing weed will allow those who need it to use it, while reaping economic benefits for the good of the country.

      i'm a "stoner" ("stoner" being just a label for ignorant non-smokers to call cannabis users) and my reasoning is far from "stupid" friend. don't propagate antiquated stereotypes with no basis in reality please. smoking weed simply does NOT make one a "stupid stoner".

    • 2 years ago
  • Conniepae
    • 0
      Conniepae  
    • mrpibb19:

      mrpibb19, here is a link to posts, which people have posted at current, regarding cannabis and brain functions.

      http://current.com/search.htm?s=on&v=on&r=off&context=&context_i...

      The propaganda, which stated cannabis killed brain cells was proven to be false some years ago and is no longer used by anti-cannabis people. The study they used to prove cannabis killed brain cells, actually proved the monkeys they were using in the experiment did not loose brain cells from cannabis, but from asphyxiation. If you know of another story, please share.

      But, take a look at the link. Your opinion of what cannabis does, or doesn't do to ones brain is definitely in question after reading the posts provided at link.

    • 2 years ago
  • mrpibb19
    • 0
      mrpibb19  
    • mrpibb19:

      I can say that just like weed, I dislike the public availability and use of cigarettes and alcohol. Smoggy cities, in my opinion, must also have other forms of energy implemented in them to reduce the NO2 and such in the air. I'm not saying we should keep it out of every aspect of our society (medicine is fine); what I am saying is, let's keep it out of the hands of those who don't need it, those who would be best without it.
      As for the brain loss, maybe the smoke or chemicals don't kill it, but yes, the asphyxiation kills it. Isn't asphyxiation associated with nearly every time one smokes (i.e. holding in the smoke after a hit)? If it is an effect of smoking pot, then it is a reason for brain loss. And yes, I did read the article.

    • 2 years ago
  • sugarlilly
    • 0
      sugarlilly  
    • mrpibb19:

      the difference here is that some trust others (humanism) to know themselves well enough that if it was legalized, the people who needed it could have it and we hope that those who might actually become unmotivated or reap any bad effects, would take personal responsibility for their actions and just not use it.

      mrpibb-- "what I am saying is, let's keep it out of the hands of those who don't need it, those who would be best without it." we're saying that no one can make that decision but each individual for them self. by legalizing it, we could. sometimes when we collectively trust people, they surprise us for the better.

    • 2 years ago
  • PressCore
    • 0
      PressCore  
    • mrpibb19:

      Ironicaly, it's been proven in the U.K. of the Netherlands that the exact opposite has happened. Trust me, I'm not trying to be childish and contrary. I have a degree in Psychology from the S.U. of N. Y. Long ago, we, as students learned a principle called simply " approach/avoidance " It's postuilated on the theory that people can actualy enhibit a repulsion to what they think they're attracted to. So the consequence is the closer they get to what they think they want the more they push it away from themselves. You can easily prove this theory to your own satisfaction. if you take 2 magnets, then put them close to one another, you'll find that opposite poles attract, but like poles repel. What this means in the social psychology real life experiment they've experienced in the Holland for the past 40 years is that if you make something so available to people that it's common, they'll quickly get bored with it, and not make it a priority to delve into. Unlike here in the States. Because we tell people here to stay away from it, like rebellious children they seem to think, wow, if revolting adults tell us to stay away from it, it must be realy something we need to check out. They also call this "reverse psychology". Tell a rebellious child NOT to do something, and they're guaranteed to do it. Tell them it's OK, and they loose all interest. I mean they know it's always going to be there anyway, so what's
      the rush ? Heck, they might even think of more practical, ideas first like, Am I making as much money as I need to on my present job ? And if no, then where should I go to find a 2nd part time job ? BEFORE they play.. The Dutch are excellent students of human nature. They know people up one side and down another. And believe it or not, this reverse psychology has worked because their people have experienced reduced drug use. Rowdy foreigners are a different story, but by now you should have gotten the idea.

    • 2 years ago
  • Conniepae
    • 0
      Conniepae  

    • More people would support reclassification of cannabis hemp if they knew the facts. Important facts were removed from educational material and replaced with 'Reefer Madness'. That didn't happen by accident. It was done with forethought. They knew if they removed facts, people would be unable to make educated decisions to support the plant.

      Cannabis hemp has so many positive facts, it's hard to believe they were able to hide it's history. But alas, they were able to remove facts and spin disinformation and fear. I was in my mid 30's before I read "The Emperor Wears No Clothes" by Jack Herer and found out they had been lying. The facts did not support the ban on cannabis hemp. They were using distortion to promote their 'war on cannabis'.

      The history of cannabis does not support the war. American corporations and our own government were allowed to distort the truth in the name of war. Once war was declared and 'drug testing' became common practice, people had to fear the loss of their lively hood if they stood up for truth.

      Truth should win, over spin.

    • 2 years ago
  • nodonjuan
  • hpseaton
  • Progresshiv
    • 0
      Progresshiv  

    • Some people seem to believe life is to be a series of unrelenting tasks, designed to showcase one's worthiness of entering a rewarding afterlife. It would be interesting to know what, in those people's imagination, this afterlife consists of: another series of unrelenting tasks? I raise this question because it seems that some Republicans (and some Democrats) believe that life is supposed to be a hard and sad journey, devoid of pleasure.

      In the Old Testament, King David was full of lust and zest for life. Solomon was hedonistic. Hundreds of Biblical characters drank wine and caroused with their multiple wives. Yet, today's "religious" fundamentalists eschew the pleasure of marijuana as if pleasure, itself, were a sin. What a cold and dreary world they live in. It is my belief that the Lord will ask them, "Why did you shuffle around like sick people when I gave you an entire universe to enjoy?" I do not smoke marijuana, because my job prohibits its use; however, when I retire, I would like nothing better than to be able to take a few hits off of a pot pipe and sit by the ocean, watching the patterns God has etched into the waves. So much simple, relaxing beauty. How can this be a sin?

    • 2 years ago
  • ryanqk
  • Katmai512
  • freshfish
  • dragon1984
  • Conniepae
    • 0
      Conniepae  
    • Progresshiv:

      The first time I read the 'Serenity Prayer', I thought, how profound. That's what cannabis does for me.

      God grant me the 'Serenity'
      to accept the things
      I cannot change...
      The 'Courage' to change
      the things I can...
      and the 'Wisdom' to know
      the difference.

      Who would think a God made plant would help me mentally and spiritually.

      I am 54 years old, married 37 years and know cannabis has enabled us to 'tie a knot and hang on' many times. Cannabis hemp makes the best rope, physically and mentally. It's time to talk! I didn't know the Serenity Prayer was the alcoholic's prayer. I liked what it said. I truly feel the use of cannabis has helped me get through some real tough times. No one goes through life unscathed. At this point in time, when so many are out of work and stressed to the max, this may be an excellent time for 'change'.

      The problems today are not due to the workers. It's the corporations who have bankrupt our country and caused such job losses. They weren't thinking about the future as they led us down the path to a failed economy. They were getting more, more, more. They outsourced jobs, which could have stayed in America, had they not been so greedy and self-serving. We are all paying to day for the outsourcing of yesterday.

    • 2 years ago
  • Progresshiv
  • sugarlilly
  • Progresshiv
  • SleepDirt
  • idealist
  • picKFishStudios
  • RFIDemocracy
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