U.S. Support for Legalizing Marijuana Reaches New High

 

Majority in the West favors taxing marijuana sales to boost state revenues

by Lydia Saad

PRINCETON, NJ -- Gallup's October Crime poll finds 44% of Americans in favor of making marijuana legal and 54% opposed. U.S. public support for legalizing marijuana was fixed in the 25% range from the late 1970s to the mid-1990s, but acceptance jumped to 31% in 2000 and has continued to grow throughout this decade.

"The highest level of support for decriminalizing the use of marijuana today is seen with self-described liberals, among whom 78% are in favor."

Public opinion is virtually the same on a question that relates to a public policy debate brewing in California -- whether marijuana should be legalized and taxed as a way of raising revenue for state governments. Just over 4 in 10 Americans (42%) say they would favor this in their own state; 56% are opposed. Support is markedly higher among residents of the West -- where an outright majority favor the proposal -- than in the South and Midwest. The views of Eastern residents fall about in the middle.

The new findings come as the U.S. Justice Department has reportedly decided to loosen its enforcement of federal anti-marijuana laws by not pursuing individuals who buy or sell small amounts of the drug in conformity with their own states' medical marijuana laws. This seems likely to meet with U.S. public approval, as previous Gallup polling has found Americans generally sympathetic to legalizing marijuana for medical purposes. In 2003, 75% of Americans favored allowing doctors to legally prescribe marijuana to patients in order to reduce pain and suffering.

Basic Support for Legalization Highest Among Liberals

The highest level of support for decriminalizing the use of marijuana today is seen with self-described liberals, among whom 78% are in favor. In contrast, 72% of conservatives are opposed. Moderates are about evenly divided on whether the use of marijuana should be legal, although they tilt against it (51% vs. 46%).

Somewhat milder differences are seen according to political party, mainly because of the tempered support of Democrats relative to that of liberals. However, a solid 70% of Republicans -- similar to the rate seen among conservatives -- are opposed.

Gallup also finds a generational rift on the issue, as 50% of those under 50 and 45% of those 50 to 64 say it should be legal, compared with 28% of seniors.

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U.S. Support for Legalizing Marijuana Reaches New High

90% Of CNN Viewers Want Marijuana Legalized!

Two talking heads (both part of government anti-drug programs) take on the tough issues of how to solve the violence at the US/Mexican border. SURPRISE! 90% of CNN viewers want it legalized!



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NORML Survey on Marijuana Use : Win A Prize!

I filled mine out. How about you?

Want to participate in an anonymous survey that can help advance scientific understanding regarding marijuana use?

Want to possibly win a $250 Amazon gift card? How about a free iPod?

This survey from NORML advisory board member and university researcher Dr. Mitch Earleywine assesses a number of attitudes and personal preferences.

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Zogby Poll: US Weed Legalization Support Grows

Fifty-eight percent of respondents residing on the west coast agree that cannabis should be "taxed and legally regulated like alcohol and cigarettes."...Nationally, support for taxing and regulating cannabis stands at 44 percent. Among likely voters on the east coast, 48 percent endorse legalizing marijuana.
NORML,San Francisco, CA: A majority of west coast voters support regulating the sale of marijuana in a manner similar to alcohol, according to national poll of 1,053 likely voters by Zogby International and commissioned by California NORML and Oaksterdam University.
Fifty-eight percent of respondents residing on the west coast agree that cannabis should be "taxed and legally regulated like alcohol and cigarettes." Only thirty-six percent of west coast respondents oppose regulating the sale of marijuana for adults.
Nationally, support for taxing and regulating cannabis stands at 44 percent. Among likely voters on the east coast, 48 percent endorse legalizing marijuana. Respondents' support fell to approximately 37 percent in the southern and central regions of the United States.
In January, a national CBS/New York Times poll reported that 41 percent of Americans support legalizing marijuana – up from just 27 percent in 1979.

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Legalizing Marijuana Is More Popular Than Republicans

Here is a political realignment for you: polling shows that legalizing marijuana is now more popular than Republicans.
From OpenLeft
It should also be noted that, at 40-41% support, legalizing marijuana is more popular than all of the following:
Opposing stricter gun control laws (40%)
Congress (26-40%)
The war in Iraq (39%)
Decreasing immigration levels (39%)
Privatizing Social Security (36%)
Opposing investigating the Bush administration (34%)
Opposing national, government run health insurance (32%)
Vetoing stem cell research (31%)
The Republican Party (31%)
Dick Cheney (30%)
George W. Bush (24-34%)
Decreasing business regulations (28%)
Rush Limbaugh (28%)
Mitch McConnell (22%)
Preventing the openly gay from serving in the military (17%)
John Boehner (17%)
In short, legalizing marijuana is more popular than the Republican Party, most leading Republicans, and virtually the entire Republican platform.
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Poll: 44 pct. of Dems think BushCo. committed war crimes

Among the general populace, just 25 percent agree with the assessment that the Bush administration is guilty of war crimes. By contrast, 70 percent of Americans believe it would be "bad" should these officials be brought up on charges, including 53 percent of Democrats.
By Stephen C. Webster
A new survey of Democratic voters has found 44 percent believe President Bush and members of his administration committed war crimes during their term, which ended Jan. 20.

On the same day, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture, Manfred Nowak, told CNN that the International governing body already has enough evidence to prosecute former US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld for specifically ordering war crimes.

Among the general populace, just 25 percent agree with the assessment that the Bush administration is guilty of war crimes. By contrast, 70 percent of Americans believe it would be "bad" should these officials be brought up on charges, including 53 percent of Democrats.

The poll was released Monday through Rasmussen.

Whether Americans believe it or not, the former President and Vice President have both admitted to approving torture -- or, as they call it, "enhanced interrogation tactics" -- in direct contravention to the Geneva Conventions.

"I supported it," said Vice President Cheney, regarding the practice known as "water-boarding," a form of simulated drowning. After World War II, Japanese soldiers were tried and convicted of war crimes for water-boarding, a practice which the outgoing Bush administration attempted to enshrine in policy.

"I was aware of the program, certainly, and involved in helping get the process cleared, as the agency in effect came in and wanted to know what they could and couldn't do," he said during a Dec. 2008 interview. "And they talked to me, as well as others, to explain what they wanted to do. And I supported it."

"My view is the techniques were necessary and are necessary," President Bush told Fox News with little more than a week to go in his administration.Additionally, a secret Red Cross report, delivered to the CIA in 2007, determined the Bush administration's authorized techniques were "categorically" torture, implicating war crimes.

"It is really amazing because Congress -- including the Democrats -- have avoided any type of investigation into torture because they do not want to deal with the fact that the president ordered war crimes," said Constitutional lawyer Jonathan Turley during an April 2008 appearance on MSNBC. "But evidence keeps on coming out .... What you get from this is this was a premeditated and carefully orchestrated torture program. Not torture, but a torture program."

"I'd never thought I would say this, but I think it might in fact be time for the United States to be held internationally to a tribunal," Turley told MSNBC's Keith Olbermann in July. "I never thought in my lifetime I would say that."

"Judicially speaking, the United States has a clear obligation" to bring proceedings against Bush and former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, said the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture Manfred Nowak, in remarks to be broadcast on Germany's ZDF television
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Obama Should NOT Let Bush Off the Hook for His Crimes

The Obama team has shown some willingness to sweep many of the excesses of the Bush administration under the rug, allowing them to get away with their failures. This is a grave mistake. For the sake of posterity, Bush must be held accountable.
Gallup recently released the results of a survey that assessed the performance of the Bush administration on a range of issues. Bush is poorly regarded among the public on virtually every topic:

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National Poll: 75% of Americans glad that Bush is done

Seventy-five percent of those questioned in a CNN/Opinion Research Corp. survey released Friday said they're glad Bush is going; 23 percent indicated they'll miss him. "As President Bush prepares to leave office, the American public has a parting thought: Good riddance. At least that's the way three-quarters feel."

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This just in: Americans like Obama

In a new USA TODAY/Gallup poll, a sample of 1,008 Americans picked president-elect Barack Obama as the man they admire most. No president-elect has topped the poll since war hero Dwight Eisenhower 56 years ago.
Thirty-two percent of respondents picked Obama, while runner-up George Bush notched just five percent. In further parallels with 1952, that matches Harry Truman's performance in the Gallup poll. Bush has long had only Truman as company for least popular president in contemporary opinion polls. His ratings, which have long languished in the 20s and 30s, are similar to those that Truman earned during his second term, as troops were bogged down in Korea. Bush's numbers, however, have stayed lower, and for longer, than Truman's.
Obama's high numbers suggest that, in a time of national crisis, he may have the public good will to try and effect significant change. USA Today manages to find an expert who calls this historically high level of support a "two-edged sword."
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Public split on Obama aides

By Paul Steinhauser - WASHINGTON (CNN) — A new national poll indicates Americans are split on whether aides to President-elect Barack Obama did something inappropriate in their contacts with embattled Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich.
Twelve percent of those questioned in a CNN/Opinion Research Corp. survey released Monday say Obama aides did something illegal, with another 36 percent feeling Obama aides didn’t act illegally but did do something unethical. Forty-three percent say no Obama aides did anything seriously wrong.
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Poll Finds Support for Obama's War Views

By Michael A. Fletcher and Jon Cohen
Washington Post Staff Writers
Tuesday, December 16, 2008; Page A01

Americans are more upbeat about U.S. prospects in Iraq than at any time in the past five years, but nearly two-thirds continue to believe the war is not worth fighting and 70 percent say President-elect Barack Obama should fulfill his campaign promise to withdraw U.S. forces from the country within 16 months, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.

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79% approve of way Obama is handling transition

Nearly eight in 10 Americans questioned in a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey out Tuesday morning are giving the president-elect the thumbs up when it comes to his handling of the transition. Seventy-nine percent approve of Obama's performance so far during transition, with 18 percent disapproving.
"An Obama job approval rating of 79 percent -- that's the sort of rating you see when the public rallies around a leader after a national disaster," said Bill Schneider, CNN's senior political analyst. "To many Americans, the Bush administration was a national disaster." iReport.com: Dear Mr. President...

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Poll: Support for gay marriage skyrocketing

Americans find civil unions for gays and lesbians more palatable than full-fledged marriage. Fifty-five percent of respondents favored legally sanctioned unions or partnerships, while only 39 percent supported marriage rights. Both figures are notably higher than in 2004, when 40 percent backed the former and 33 percent approved the later.

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Poll: Less than half say US has liberty and justice for all

A new poll from Rasmussen Reports indicates that although Americans strongly support the saying of the Pledge of Allegience, less than half of them believe that "the United States is truly the land of liberty and justice for all." Just 46% said they would agree with that statement, while 42% disagreed.

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Poll: Public's Loathing of the GOP Hits All Time High

In the latest Gallup poll, Americans' antipathy for the GOP has increased yet again, with only 34% saying they view the GOP favorably and 61% saying they view the GOP unfavorably, "the highest Gallup has recorded for that party since the measure was established in 1992."

Couldn't happen to a nicer party

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Poll: Americans Have High Hopes for the Next Four Years

Nearly two-thirds of Americans (65%) think the country will be better off four years from now, a significantly higher percentage (46%) than said the same when President George W. Bush was about to take office in January 2001.

Poll: Obama win may affect race relations

For most African-Americans, the election of Barack Obama as president was a dream come true that they didn't think they would see in their lifetime, a national poll released Tuesday suggests.

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Are You on the Edge of Your Seat?

The big day is tomorrow, and everything points to a surprising victory for Obama and the Dems.
As the big day approaches, there's a glut of information out there on the election. What follows is a round up of some of the most important and fascinating news from the 2008 race:
Latest polling shows Obama upswing
Gallup/USA Today Poll released on Nov. 2: Obama: 53% McCain: 42%
And CBS released another poll showing similar numbers: 54 percent to 41 percent.
Hope Reborn from DailyKos writes of the Gallup/USA Today results:
"When Gallup allocates undecided voters … Obama's share climbs to 55%, giving him an 11-point spread over McCain's 44%. These are blowout numbers. By comparison, in 1988 (the last time one of the two major parties posted a decisive win, without a significant third-party candidate in the race) George Bush Sr. won 53.4% to Michael Dukakis's 45.7%.
"In other words, if Gallup's final poll is roughly right, John McCain may very well end upunderperforming Mike Dukakis. And how effective have McCain's slimeball attacks on Obama been? One more historic tidbit from the survey: Obama's favorable rating is 62% -- the highest that any presidential candidate has registered in Gallup's final pre-election polls going back to 1992."
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Could McCain Lose His Home State?

A poll suggests John McCain, having trouble all over the map, might not win his home state: Democrats are circulating a poll showing Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) losing ground in his own state, an ominous sign for his beleaguered campaign as state after state turns blues. Project New West, which aims to build the Democratic Party in the Intermountain West, says McCain leads Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) in the Grand Canyon State.

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Obama lead on McCain grows to 12 points

By Andrew Quinn WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democrat Barack Obama's lead over Republican rival John McCain has grown to 12 points in the U.S. presidential race, with crucial independent and women voters increasingly moving to his side, according to a...

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