According to a recent poll conducted by a leading GOP firm, a majority of American voters, including the majority of Republicans under 55 years of age, favor legalizing marijuana in “all 50 states.”
According to the Tarrance Group survey, 57 percent of respondents support nationwide legalization of cannabis. Of those 35 percent “strongly” supported the policy change.
This is a slightly lower number than other recent surveys on national legalization. However, this may be due to the misleading question asked of voters. The question implied that federal reform would “legalize it in all fifty states,” despite the fact that most of the proposals floated by Congress would allow individual states to decide their own cannabis policies while ending federal criminalization.
This framing makes the majority’s support even more impressive. Nearly half of Republicans (48%) support this proposal. However, a larger majority of GOP voters under 55 years old (55%) said that they are in favor of the ambitious policy change.
Democrats are generally the most pro-reform, with 67 per cent of their voters saying that they support a broad legalization. Seventy-four per cent of Democrats aged under 55 also said the same.
Independents are more supportive of the reform than other groups. Among independents who are likely to vote, 56 percent approve of legalizing marijuana nationwide, and 63 percent support it among independents younger than 55.
Josh Glasstetter is a spokesperson for USCC, the U.S. Cannabis Council. He told Marijuana Moment that “the results indicate a generational change on cannabis, and a rapidly emerging bipartisan majority in favor of federal lawfulization.”
He said that “younger voters are highly sought after in this year’s elections, and they support legalization strongly.” Candidates should take notice.
Overall, 67 per cent of voters aged 18-44 are in favor of a national legalization model. This compares to 57 per cent of those aged 45-64, and 47percent of those aged 65+.
The reform is also supported by 68 percent of supporters of incumbent President Joe Biden, while only 48 percent of supporters of GOP frontrunner Donald Trump say the same. 50 percent of undecided voters support the change in policy.
The pollster also found that 55 per cent of those who are “double-haters”, or people who dislike both Biden and Trump, support the legalization of cannabis.
Without the language around legalizing in all 50 states, a Gallup poll from late last year found that support for ending federal marijuana prohibition has reached a record high nationally, with seven in 10 Americans–including a sizable majority of Republicans, Democrats and independents–backing the reform.
Tarrance ‘s new poll included 1,000 interviews conducted from 3-4 January, with an error margin of 3.1 percent points.
The survey was commissioned by the Coalition for Cannabis Scheduling Reform. It found that Biden could make significant gains in terms of his political career if marijuana were rescheduled as per his administrative directive.
The study found that after hearing the implications of a rescheduling process that was initiated by the president, the voters’ opinion of him jumped 11 points. This includes a 11-point swing in favorability among young voters aged 18-25.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has suggested the rescheduling of action after a scientific review was completed in last year. However, the Drug Enforcement Administration retains “final authority”.
According to a recent survey, a third of marijuana users say that they will return to the illegal market if cannabis is rescheduled and made available only as a Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved prescription drug.
Fetterman opposes Schumer’s Zyn Nicotine Pouches Crackdown for the same ‘Freedom of Choice’ reasons he supports marijuana legalization
Photo by Chris Wallis // Side Pocket Images.
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