Public Supports Medical Marijuana, but Not Full Legalization of Pot

By Erin Sherbert Fri., Nov. 18 2011 at 5:07 PM

growing ... support for the drug

Just as local pot clubs have been closing their doors due to a federal crackdown, a new poll was released showing that a growing number of people actually support medical marijuana. According to a CBS news poll conducted at the end of October, 77 percent of respondents said they think marijuana should be legal, but only to help relieve medical conditions.

However, a majority of people are opposed to outright legalizing pot, with 51 percent of those surveyed said they think marijuana should be illegal, a number that's stayed relatively the same over the last few years, according to the poll. Still, three out of 10 people surveyed believe that pot being transported into the country under government-authorized medical marijuana programs is being used for reasons other than alleviating medical conditions as prescribed.

Other interesting tidbits from the poll:

About 54 percent of women oppose legalizing marijuana, while 46 percent of men favor legalizing it.
Support for legalizing marijuana is strongest in the west, where 10 of the 16 states have some form of legalized medical marijuana use. About 48 percent of Americans on the West Coast think marijuana use should be legal, compared to 45 percent who say it should be illegal.
Seven in 10 Republicans oppose legalizing marijuana. Two in three liberals want to legalize pot while two in three conservatives believe it should not be legal; moderates are divided.
About 52 percent of those under 30 years old favor legalizing pot, while Americans between the ages of 30 and 44 are divided. No surprise that older Americans tend to oppose legalizing marijuana, particularly those 65 and older, comprising 62 percent.

Tags:

CBS poll, federal crackdown, marijuana legalization, medical marijuana, pot, pot clubs

We Recommend

MADELINE HARTMANN

Who is being asked? I am a83 year old woman and thinkit should be legalized,period.Reduce the cost of law enforcement the thecost of prisons. Whjy waste money on MJ use? Collect taxes, sales and income.undercut teh Mexican cartels, put them out of busines.......

Nickimas

they should just try it and see what happens. seriously what harm is it going to do? they'll probably see a drop in crime because people arent robbing each other so they can go buy weed.

Rick Shannon

"About 54 percent of women oppose legalizing marijuana, while 46 percent of men favor legalizing it" - wait a minute - do the math - if 54 oppose it, then 46 favor it. If 46 favor it, 54 oppose it. I don't care - if more than 5% use it, it should be legal. It is not the government's, nor the 54 percentages' business if I smoke it or not.

tezvoo

Whoa wait wut? Pot is illegal? Since when??web-tools.at.tc

malcolmkyle

Start a “Neighborhood Watch” in your area.

* A neighborhood watch does more than just ally against horse dealers: all quality of life crimes are reduced when neighbors are vigilant and do not compromise their stance. A weekly meeting with a few spliffs and pizza helps create a bond.

* Take pictures of the riders (surreptitiously of course), the paraphernalia left behind, like empty oat bags, provides hard evidence for the police to do their job.

* Children require alternatives to horses, so work with your community to ensure quality options to Equasy.

VincentVonDudler

Prohibition is a waste of police resources in my opinion. Growing, possessing, and using marijuana is a civil liberty in a free society. People should not have to justify their civil liberties to the government. Regardless of how you feel about local law enforcement cracking down on marijuana. I hope we can all agree that it should be a state level decision and not a federal prohibition. Here's how we can end the federal prohibition and restore power to the states. The proposed legislation is called H.R. 2306 and everyone should support the federal government getting out of state business. Tell your representatives -> http://pvox.co/CdiFqY

"[Prohibition] attempts to control a man's appetite by legislation, and makes a crime out of things that are not crimes." - Abraham Lincoln