Stop us if you’ve heard this before: A large number of Americans believe that pot should be legal.
This is the main takeaway from The latest poll released Thursday by Gallup, which found that more than two-thirds of adults in the United States – or 68 percent – support the legalization of marijuana.
The chief pollster said he “documented growing support for marijuana legalization over more than five decades, with particularly sharp increases in the 2000s.”
Gallup has commanded majority support for the legislation since 2013, when more than 50 percent of Americans said they supported the policy for the first time.
The latest results are consistent with the Gallup report vote from last year, which also found that 68 percent of American adults are in favor of marijuana legalization.
2020 voteGallup noted at the time that it was “more likely now than at any time in the past five decades to support marijuana legalization in the United States.”
Like last year’s poll, Latest Poll It found “a strong majority of American adults in all major subgroups by gender, age, income, and education support marijuana legalization.”
“The fundamental differences are seen, however, by political party and religion,” Gallup explained. While most Democrats (83%) and political independents (71%) support legalization, Republicans are roughly divided on the question (50% support; 49% oppose). Weekly and semi-regular attendees to religious services are divided on this issue as well, while those who attend infrequently or never attend support widespread legalization of marijuana.”
The survey results are consistent with what has been a boom in nationwide legalization over the past decade, as changing attitudes have helped kick-start marijuana reform.
More than a dozen states have now moved to legalize adult recreational utensils, with voters in liberal and conservative strongholds embracing the reform. Last year, voters in four states — New Jersey, Arizona, Montana and South Dakota — passed ballot measures that legalized marijuana for recreational use.
As is often the case, suffrage was clearly a driver of politics.
Gallup poll matches results from other recent polls
A survey released earlier this year of Quinnipiac University yielded similar results to a recent Gallup poll.
The Quinnipiac poll found that about 70 percent of Americans support the legalization of marijuana, the highest number ever recorded in a national poll.
And while legalization measures have so far been implemented at the state and municipal levels, there are increasing indications that the federal government may be willing to follow suit.
Earlier this year, Democrats in Congress inserted The Marijuana Opportunities, Reinvestment, and Delisting Act of 2021, or the More Act of 2021, which would “decriminalize and de-schedule cannabis … provide for reinvestment in certain people negatively affected by the war on drugs … provide for the decriminalization of certain cannabis offenses.” and for other purposes.”
In the spring, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York compressed Democrats are ready to move forward with legalization, citing the success of legalization at the state level.
In 2018, I was the first member of the Democratic leadership to come out in support of ending the federal ban. I’m sure you’re asking, “Well what has changed?” Well, my thinking has evolved. When a few early states—Oregon and Colorado—wanted to legalize, all opponents spoke of a parade of atrocities: crime would rise. Drug use will rise. Schumer said at the time. “The legalization of the states was remarkably successful. They were a huge success. The parade of terror did not happen, and the people got more freedom. And the people in those states seem very happy.”
