According to a new Gallup poll, 64% of Americans support marijuana legalization, and for the first time in the history of the poll, a majority of Republicans also support legalization.
Gallup found, “Democrats and independents have historically been much more likely than Republicans to say marijuana should be legalized. In 2009, Democrats were the first partisan group to see majority support for legalization, followed by independents in 2010. This year for the first time, a majority of Republicans express support for legalizing marijuana; the current 51% is up nine percentage points from last year.”
Here is the trend line on Republican support for legalization:
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What could have happened in the past year to cause America to want to get baked and forget?
The movement in public support for legalization has been growing since the early 2000s, which is what makes the Trump and Jeff Sessions led revival of the war on drugs so out of step with the rest of the country. At a time when Americans want to loosen the law on marijuana, Trump’s attorney general is trying to attack the legal marijuana industry.
The Trump administration isn’t even in the same universe as a majority of their own party on this issue.
Beneath Trump and the dinosaur viewers that power Fox News is a younger Republican Party that doesn’t share the same outdated attitude on legalization as cranky Trump. The Trump administration is so bad that everyone is looking for something to take the edge off, including at least 51% of Republicans.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
