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Poll: 55% of U.S. Support Legal Marijuana

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By "Radical" Russ Belville

Another Angus-Reid Public Policy pollhas asked Americans about legalizing marijuana and their opinion of the War on (Certain American Citizens Using Non-Pharmaceutical, Non-Alcoholic, Tobacco-Free) Drugs.  And once again, for the third year in a row, a majority of Americans support legalization of marijuana.

The poll is a randomized and controlled online survey.  This format, unlike Gallup and other organizations that use telephone polls, may lead to more honest responses from those polled.  When asked in Gallup’s last telephone survey about marijuana legalization in October 2010, only 46% of Americans supported marijuana legalization.  Angus-Reid’s 2009 survey found 53% support.  In 2010 the support was 52% and in the survey just released, support had risen to 55% in favor of marijuana legalization, with only 40% opposed.

Other questions reveal some interesting points as well.  When asked if America has a “serious drug abuse problem”, 64% said yes, as a country, we have a serious drug abuse problem, with another 20% saying this serious drug abuse problem is confined to “specific areas and people”.   In fact, “serious drug abuse”, defined as people who were admitted to drug treatment for substances other than cannabis, totaled a little over 1.5 million – about 0.4% of our population.  Even if you count people forced by a drug court to go to a rehab they don’t need for cannabis, the number is still less than 2 million people.

What we do have in this country is a “serious drug prohibition problem” and it is imperative that we better educate the public that this is what they are misidentifying as drug abuse problems.

Another finding: when asked whether the “War on Drugs is a success”, only 9% of Americans agreed, with a 2-to-1 margin, 67% saying it is a failure.  Still, almost a quarter of Americans said “Don’t Know”, indicating another area where we must increase our public education efforts.

As for legalization of drugs and cannabis, we find other interesting data.  The gender gap we see in polls like Gallup’s tightens in the online Angus-Reid poll.  Where Gallup showed a ten-point gap between men’s and women’s support for legalization of marijuana, Angus-Reid shows 57% of men and 53% of women support legalizing marijuana, a gap of only four points.  The online component provides less intimidation of the respondent and I believe women are less likely to be truthful about their support for legalization over the phone, where they hear another voice and imagine being judged as a “pothead”.  Still, we need to make up that four-point-gap.

Finally, all the prohibitionists who worry about a “slippery slope” and argue “well, if we legalize pot, what’s next, legal meth?” are going to have to find a new talking point.  While the poll shows 55% support for legalizing marijuana, there is but 10% support for ecstasy, 9% for cocaine, 8% for heroin, and 7% each for crack and meth.  Apparently Americans know the difference between cannabis and drugs.

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CRW's picture

Cannabis is an intoxicant, so

Cannabis is an intoxicant, so let's not dress it up. Saying it is "not a drug" is misleading and disingenuous, and the people on the fence won't buy it. Most people don't view pot as a "hard" drug, but it is still a drug just like mushrooms, peyote, etc.

Also, most of the poll data has not topped the 50% mark in favor of legalization. You have to be careful not to exaggerate your data and lose support. Angus-Reid is showing a trend line that does not match other polling groups. *HOWEVER* the overall trend across polls is toward legalizing marijuana.

California was an important lesson. Support for the the legalization proposal was clearly over 50% for an extended period of time, and clearly it fizzled at the end. The prohibitionist campaign that showed that most people in prison on marijuana charges also had other criminal charges tied to their sentence took the steam completely out of the campaign. The prohibitionists effectively told the public that people who smoke pot and get caught usually have committed other crimes resonated.

It is time for a smarter campaign. Learn from California and tweak your message.

Concerned Parent's picture

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Jesus said to do unto others as we would have them to do unto us. None of us would want our child thrown in jail with the sexual predators over marijuana. None of us would want to see an older family member’s home confiscated and sold by the police for growing a couple of marijuana plants for their aches and pains. It’s time to stop putting our own family members in jail over marijuana. If ordinary Americans could grow a little marijuana in their own back yards, it would be about as valuable as home-grown tomatoes. Let's put the criminals out of business and get them out of our neighborhoods. Let's let ordinary Americans grow a little marijuana in their own back yards. Here's one way that IT IS REALLY WORKING: Arresting the criminals and collecting a fee from registered growers (and bringing in thousands of dollars to support the county budget); what a great plan! This is the way to build a better America! http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/2011/07/the-pot-republic-one-sheriffs-quietly-radical-experiment.html The current proposal before Congress, bill HR 2306, will allow states to decide how they will regulate marijuana. You can email your Congressperson and Senators at http://www.usa.gov/Contact/Elected.shtml to discuss HR 2306. And a big THANK YOU to the courageous, freedom loving legislators, governors, and countless others who are working so hard to bring this through! You’re doing a great patriotic service for all of America!

Mike Parent's picture

The failed Drug War is

The failed Drug War is officially 0ver 40 years old and has cost appx a TRILLION dollars. It's been responsible for criminalizing 850,000 Americans per year, just for marijuana use. It's been an abject failure, YET the prohibitionists want more time and more money! Legalize and Regulate marijuana EXACTLY as we do alcohol, the model is in place. If you want to keep it out of the hands of children, keep it out of the control of Black Market drug dealers and put it under the control of responsible, regulated and licensed people. Or you can not do that and hope that the black market dealers will do the right thing. Dems and Reps, different pages from the same bad book! LEAP.cc ..... @MikeParentLeap on Twitter

Dems and Reps, different pages from the same bad book!

Dave Beall's picture

Thank you Russ Belville for

Thank you Russ Belville for the good numbers. You better add more votes to that total.

Nobody in my neighborhood was surveyed, but they all smoke a little weed, doesn't everyone...

It's way past time to end the ridiculous prohibition.

How many years does it take to see that the policy is wrong? How much money are we going to throw away before we stop the waste? How many more people will we harm for no good reason? What kind of society imprisons their OWN citizens, and call it's self called a FREE COUNTRY,, free from what?

Come-on people, lets get this thing FIXED...

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