According to the latest survey published on Tuesday, most Americans, 84 percent, support the legalization of cannabis
According to the latest survey conducted by Hill-HarrisX and published last week, 84 percent of Americans support the legalization of cannabis. The survey was conducted on April 12 and 13 among registered voters. The result was surprising as the total legalization of medicinal and recreational cannabis found overwhelming support in all ages, races, genders and political affiliations.
42% of respondents said cannabis should be legal for any use. Another 42% said cannabis should be legal for medicinal purposes. Only 13% thought that marijuana users and distributors should be prosecuted, and 3% said only marijuana sellers should be penalized.
According to Henry Olsen, principal investigator of Ethics and Public Policy, on “What America thinks”, public opinion is much more advanced than cannabis laws. The decriminalization of marijuana is a good example of this. Olsen believes it is only a matter of time before public opinion manages to pressure the political class so that marijuana is legalized for any use since the laws are always behind the opinion of citizens.
Men and women
46% of women are in favor of the legalization of cannabis for medicinal use. 37% are in favor of the legalization of marijuana for any use. On the other hand, there are more men than women in favor of the legalization of cannabis for any use. 47% are in favor of full legalization and 37% are in favor of the legalization of cannabis for medicinal use.
Races
84% of white respondents support the legalization of cannabis and 16% are against it. The percentages are very similar between black respondents (89-11) and Hispanics (90-10).
Age
Both young and older voters support the legalization of cannabis. Interestingly, the older voters were the ones who most supported legalization. Only 11% of respondents 65 years or older chose to penalize the sale or consumption of marijuana. The majority, 56 percent, are in favor of the legalization of medical marijuana while 33 percent are in favor of total legalization. Voters between 35 and 49 were the ones who most supported the total legalization of cannabis. 50% of these people were in favor of the total legalization of cannabis while 33% were in favor of the legalization of medical cannabis and only 17 percent wanted to criminalize it in some way. Among the voters surveyed whose age ranged from 50 to 64 years, only 14% believe that both the sale and consumption of cannabis should be illegal, while 45% believe that medical marijuana should be legalized. 41% believe that cannabis must be legal for any use.
Republicans, Democrats and citizens without political preference
Most Republicans support legalization. 52% are in favor of medical cannabis and 24% are in favor of full legalization. Only 21% of Republican respondents are against any type of cannabis legalization and 3% think that distributors should be prosecuted.
53% of Democratic respondents believe that cannabis should be legalized for any use while 36% think that only medical cannabis should be legalized. 7% said that both distributors and consumers should be prosecuted, and only 3% believe that only suppliers should be prosecuted and punished.
The majority of Americans surveyed who do not vote for either option support the legalization of cannabis. 45% are in favor of the legalization of cannabis for any use and 38% think that cannabis should be legalized only for medicinal use. Only 13% believe that the use and distribution of marijuana should be illegal, while 3% believe that only distributors should be prosecuted.
As can be seen from this latest survey, the vast majority of Americans support the legalization of cannabis, either for medicinal use or for any use that the consumer wants to give it.
