Third Year In A Row, Majority Favors Legal Cannabis
Americans’ support for marijuanaĀ is slowly but surely growing. In 1969 only 12% of Americans polled by Gallup supported legalization. Gallup polls about marijuana legalization have averaged above the majority level, 56%, since 2013. In 2016 Gallup has shown that 60% of Americans support marijuana legalization.
The high level of support comes at an ideal time, a record number of states have marijuana on the ballot in November.Ā Marijuana use is currently legal in four states and the District of Columbia. We will find out this November if Ā California, Arizona, Massachusetts, Maine and Nevada will join the ranks.Ā If all legislation passes in favor of marijuana, the percentage of Americans living in states where MarijuanaĀ use is legal, could rise from the current 5% Ā of the population to as much as 25%. So far, four states and the District of Columbia have made recreational use of marijuana legal. The positive financial and public health outcomes in those states Ā have shown how successful legalization can be.
2016 Poll- Do you thing the use of marijuana should be made legal?
Younger Adults More Supportive of Marijuana
Gallup has consistently shown that the biggest indicatorsĀ of whether a person will support marijuana legalization are age and party identification. Independents and Democrats that are young are more likelyĀ to favorĀ legalization, while Republicans who areĀ older are least likely to do so.
In 1969 only 20% of 18- to 34-year-olds supported marijuana legalization, today 71% Ā do. In 1969 only 4 % of senior citizens supported marijuana, that has grown to almost 35%. In the last 15 year Gallop has seen more growth for supportĀ than between any of the earlier time periods.Ā Americans born in 1935 or earlier, have shown the least amount ofĀ change in theirĀ positionĀ about marijuana over their life spans.
Gallup has measured the support for marijuana to beĀ 58%, which is an all time high. Because youth have shown to be more supportive of marijuana, the level of support will continue to grow.
Support by age group
Support for legalizing marijuana has increased among most subgroups in the past decade, but more so among certain groups than others. For example, support is up 33 percentage points to 77% among adults aged 18 to 34, while it is up 16 points among adults aged 55 and older to 45%.
Source: Gallup
