Approximately six-in-ten likely voters say that the federal government should end marijuana prohibition and permit licensed businesses to engage in retail sales to adults, according to nationally representative survey data compiled by the progressive-leaning think-tank Data for Progress.
Fifty-eight percent of respondents — including 69 percent of Democrats and 54 percent of Republicans — agreed that “the federal government should legalize the use and sale of marijuana for adults.” Support among Democrats rose to 79 percent when respondents were provided details about the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act, which is currently pending before Congress and seeks to remove the cannabis plant from the federal Controlled Substances Act. Sixty percent of Republicans also endorsed the MORE Act. By contrast, Independent voters were largely undecided on the issue.
Commenting on the survey’s results, NORML’s Political Director Justin Strekal said: “As pressure on Congress continues to grow, now is the time for House leadership to publicly declare that they will hold a vote on the MORE Act prior to the upcoming election. It’s that simple.”
To date, NORML members have sent over 100,000 messages to Congress in support of the MORE Act. Last November, members of the House Judiciary Committee advanced the bill on a bipartisan vote of 24-10.
Survey respondents overwhelmingly agreed that the federal government should not encroach upon states that have legalized marijuana. Sixty-nine percent of respondents — including 78 percent of Democrats and 67 percent of Republicans — agreed that “the federal government should respect the rights of individual states that have already legalized marijuana sales and not pursue legal action against them.”
Respondents’ responses to other marijuana policy questions are available here.
Authors concluded: “Our polling shows bipartisan support for meaningful legislative marijuana reform that would legalize marijuana and begin to address the intergenerational harms wrought by racially disparate and selective enforcement. Voters support legalization — including delisting marijuana in the CSA — and they also support policies to economically empower the communities that the War on Drugs has disproportionately targeted and devastated.”
Results from other national polls are available from NORML here.
