Palo Alto, CA–(ENEWSPF)–February 18, 2011. Nearly six out of ten people believe that marijuana should be “treated like alcohol and tobacco,” according to a national poll of 1,000 Americans. The poll, conducted by YouGov America and commissioned by The Economist, has a margin of error of ±4.2 percent.
Thirty-four percent of respondents said that they ‘strongly agreed’ with the statement: “Some people say marijuana should be treated like alcohol and tobacco. They say it should be regulated and taxed and made illegal for minors. Do you agree?” Twenty-four percent of respondents agreed with the statement.
Only 23 percent of those surveyed said that they disagreed or strongly disagreed with the notion of taxing and regulating adult marijuana consumption.
A majority of respondents in all age groups endorsed ending criminal marijuana prohibition, with those age 18 to 29 expressing the strongest support for legalization. Among those over age 65 with an opinion on the subject, approximately 45 percent endorsed regulating pot; fewer than 40 percent of older Americans opposed the idea.
Those respondents who identified themselves as Democrats were more likely to support the idea of taxing and regulating cannabis than Republicans, the poll found. Overall, however, majorities of both parties said that they supported legalization.
“If our poll is right, then it can only be a matter of time before laws start to change, at least in the more liberal states,” pollsters concluded.
The YouGov/Economist poll was conducted February 5-8, 2011. Details of the poll are available online at: http://www.economist.com/node/18118857?story_id=18118857.
Source: norml.org
