For the first time in Pew Research Center’s surveying history, a majority of Americans want marijuana legalized. According to the survey released April 2014, 52% of Americans support legalizing marijuana, and in an October 2014 Gallup poll, 58% of Americans think marijuana should be legal. This is an 11 point increase since 2010, and a […]
For the first time in Pew Research Center’s surveying history, a majority of Americans want marijuana legalized. According to the survey released April 2014, 52% of Americans support legalizing marijuana, and in an October 2014 Gallup poll, 58% of Americans think marijuana should be legal.
This is an 11 point increase since 2010, and a 10 point increase from just last year. Further to legalization, 72% of adults believe that the federal government should not enforce marijuana laws in states that allow its use and think “the federal government’s efforts cost more than they are worth.”
 Adults, Millenials and Baby Boomers are more accepting of marijuana. Chart courtesy of Gallup. |
But adults aren’t the only group polled. There has been an increase in the amount of Millenials who support legalization. Unsurprisingly, they are more open minded than adults, as 65% of Millenials support legalizing pot. On the other hand, since Gallup first posed the question in 1969, the number of 18-29 years olds who admitted to trying cannabis dropped from 56% in 1985, to 36% in 2013.
The amount of Americans who support the legalization of cannabis and support marijuana use has grown exponentially since the 1960’s. This can be accredited to weed’s success in the ballot box. However, there are less people admitting to using marijuana, whether they are smoking for medical or recreational purposes.
From what we all witness from pot-smoking celebrities and their being tastemakers for Millenials and beyond, it’s hard to believe that is true: our generation simply prefers tweeting over poll-taking.
Source: Gallup