More Evidence That Most Americans Oppose Marijuana Prohibition

According to a new Wall Street
Journal/NBC News poll, 55 percent of Americans
support marijuana legalization, which is similar to the results
of a
CNN poll conducted a few weeks ago and a
Gallup poll conducted last fall. The
wording of the latest survey was unusual, asking respondents
how they would react “if a law passed in your state that allowed
adults to purchase small quantities of marijuana for their own
personal use from regulated, state-licensed businesses.” Only 19
percent said they would “actively work to overturn it,” while
another 24 percent said they would oppose the law without seeking
to change it. On the pro side, 24 percent of respondents said they
would “actively support” the law, while another 31 percent said
they would favor it without actively supporting it.

By comparison, 54 percent of respondents in the CNN poll said
“the sale of marijuana should be made
legal,“ 58 percent of respondents in the
Gallup poll said “the use of marijuana should be made legal,” and
 53 percent of respondents in a
Reason-Rupe survey conducted last January said “the
government should treat marijuana the same as
alcohol.” Two
other recent polls found less support for legalization: 51
percent for legalizing “the use of marijuana” in a CBS News survey
completed last week and 49 percent for “legalizing the possession
of small amounts of marijuana for personal use” in a Washington
Post/ABC News poll earlier this month. Still, all but one of
the polls so far this year has found majority support for
legalization, suggesting that Americans really have crossed that
threshold or will soon. How soon Kevin Sabet will
admit it is another question.