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Support for pot reaches new high

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 1, 2009

Gallup's October Crime poll finds 44 percent of Americans in favor of making marijuana legal and 54 percent opposed. U.S. public support for legalizing marijuana was fixed in the 25 percent range from the late 1970s to the mid-1990s, but acceptance jumped to 31 percent in 2000 and has continued to grow.
Public opinion is virtually the same on a question that relates to a public policy debate brewing in California - whether marijuana should be legalized and taxed as a way of raising revenue for state governments.

Just over 4 in 10 Americans (42 percent) say they would favor this in their state; 56 percent are opposed. Support is higher among residents of the West - where an outright majority favor the proposal - than in the South and Midwest. The views of Eastern residents fall about in the middle.

Americans are no more - and no less - in favor of legalizing marijuana when the issue is framed as a revenue-enhancement tool for state governments. Regardless of how the question is asked, 53 percent of Americans living in the West - encompassing California, where the issue could be on the ballot in 2010 - support legalization.

Gallup.com

Results are based on telephone interviews with 1,013 national adults, ages 18 and older, conducted Oct. 1-4. The margin of sampling error is plus or minus 4 percentage points.

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