While the legalization of medical marijuana enjoys broad support (73%), most Americans are not prepared to support the full legalization of the drug. Just 41% say the use of marijuana should be made legal while 52% want to keep it illegal. However, support for legalizing marijuana has been rising over the past two decades. Support for legalization stood at just 16% in 1987, but climbed to 31% by 2000. Democrats and independents are far more likely to say that marijuana should be made legal than they were 10 years ago (half of each group supports legalization) while Republican opinion is virtually unchanged (roughly a quarter support legalization). While men are about evenly split on legalization, most women want to keep marijuana illegal. Adults younger than age 30 (58%) are far more likely to support the legalization of marijuana than are adults ages 65 and older (22%). The largest gap exists between those who say they have and have not tried the drug. Fully 64% of Americans who admit to having smoked the illegal drug say it should be made legal, while just 25% of those who have never used marijuana support legalization. Read More
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Making Pot Legal
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