Marijuana Legalization Nationwide? Americans Are Evenly Split, Want States to Decide
Despite the federal stance against all forms of marijuana, medical and otherwise, Americans support the rights of states to make weed legal.
Charles LeBlanc / Flickr
Even many of those among us who think pot should remain illegal say it should be up to states to decide.
A blow to the Obama administration? The deets:
CBS News conducted a poll recently showing that 59 percent of Americans think states should be able to say whether cannabis is legal or not. That's down slightly from September, when 62 percent said so.
Sixty-five percent of Republicans believe states should have jurisdiction; 49 percent of those who don't even want pot legalized think so.
In the wake of full legalization in Colorado and Washington state, some decriminalization proponents are claiming victory.
Ethan Nadelmann, executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance, said this week:
The big question on everyone's mind is -- how will the federal government respond to the decisive victories in Colorado and Washington? What this new poll shows is that Americans believe that states should be able to move forward with the responsible regulation of marijuana. The Obama administration would be wise to allow them to do so.
The poll also found that 47 percent of Americans support legalizing it, up from 45 percent in September. The latest numbers show a tie -- 47 percent for, 47 against -- for legalization among the 1,100 adults polled.
Wow.
A whopping 83 percent of you think doctors should be able to prescribe pot for what ails you.
The United States is turning into California, one toke at a time.
[@dennisjromero / djromero@laweekly.com / @LAWeeklyNews]
Email to Friend
Write to Editor
Print Article
