A majority of US adults — including most Democrats and Republicans — now support marijuana legalization, according to a new survey by Gallup.
Support for marijuana legalization hits new all-time high (get it?)
Gallup found that 64 percent of US adults now support legalization, including a majority of Republicans.
The survey, which reached more than 1,000 US adults from October 5 to 11, found that 64 percent of adults now back marijuana legalization. That’s the most support that Gallup has picked up in 48 years of polling on this question.
For the first time, Gallup also found that a majority of Republicans have joined the majority of Democrats and independents in supporting legalization.
This is, simply put, all-around good news for legalization advocates.
Already, marijuana has been legalized in eight states and Washington, DC. In the next few years, activist groups plan to expand into more states and, in particular, start to target more state legislatures to get it done. (So far, legalization has only happened through voter-driven ballot initiatives.)
The bipartisan support suggests this issue has reached, at least among voters, a kind of tipping point. Americans have seen legalization play out since Colorado began sales in 2014, and so far it doesn’t seem like the disaster that many opponents of legalization warned it would be. (Although experts warn it’s still too early to judge the full effects.) That has likely driven more of them to reevaluate their opinions on the issue — so now nearly two-thirds of voters support legalization, including a majority of Republicans.
This also spells trouble for President Donald Trump’s administration. Particularly through Attorney General Jeff Sessions, the administration has repeatedly hinted at a crackdown on legal pot — which would be possible because marijuana remains illegal at the federal level even in states that have legalized. Gallup’s survey, though, suggests this would be an unpopular move even among Trump’s base.
In fact, based on the trends Gallup is picking up, such a crackdown is bound to get less and less popular with each passing year.
For more on marijuana legalization, read Vox’s explainer.
See More:
